


Soulmates are Forever

by grizzygator



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Couple, F/F, friendship to relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-01-07 10:40:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12231195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grizzygator/pseuds/grizzygator
Summary: Alternative Universe: College/UniversityWaverly meets Nicole and sparks fly. A story of friendship and maybe more? Nicole and Waverly are soulmates made for each other in every universe. At least I would like to believe that. Chapter 1 dives into their first encounter in this alternative universe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction in general. I’m a huge fan of the show, and Wayhaught is portrayed so purely that I was inspired to write a couple of pieces. I have no experience with creative writing, but I thought I would give it a shot. Go easy on me, and let me know if you would like to see more. This is a university/college AU that focuses on Waverly and Nicole’s relationship. Things get complicated and twisted. Enjoy!

Waverly was afraid of starting school in a big city. She wasn’t sure how she was going to fit in. Sure, she had been voted most popular in her small town. But this was different, the town of Purgatory was small and safe. Here, hundreds of people swarmed the campus, and it was difficult to meet people. She wondered how her sister Wynonna had managed to make friends so easily on this same campus. Waverly checked into her dorm room earlier that day, and planned to roam campus before the day was over. She hoped to make friends or at least meet new people, if Wynonna could do it then so could she.

On her stroll through campus, she couldn’t help but feel alone in such a huge place. She made sure to see where all the buildings with her classes were, so that she'd have no trouble on her first day of school. As she walked back towards the dorm room she noticed Wynonna’s best friend, Nicole Haught, with a large group of people huddled around her. Waverly had only seen pictures of the two when Wynonna had visited the homestead on holidays. Wynonna would boast about the parties, and the flock of girls that Nicole attracted without trying. Waverly didn’t give it much thought then, but did find Nicole extremely beautiful. But now, seeing her in person was different. Nicole was much taller than Waverly had imagined. Nicole was beautiful, and her smile was intoxicating. 

Waverly couldn’t help but continue staring, she was drawn to Nicole. Nicole looked away from her friends and in Waverly’s direction. They made eye contact for a brief second. Suddenly, Waverly noticed she had been caught staring and bolted towards the dorm rooms. She didn't mean to it was instinctual. Staring at Nicole for a second longer would have ruined her. Those eyes.

She shut the door behind her and paced around her room going through what had happened out there. Nicole had her flustered with a look. She wondered if she could’ve avoided it, or done something different; maybe introduced herself. If she had introduced herself, she wouldn’t have been caught staring. 

Nicole must think I’m weird. How could she not? If she knew I was Wynonna’s sister, it would have made sense, why I was staring, right? Waverly thought to herself.

Waverly was overthinking the whole encounter. Her mind was all over the place until she remembered that she had a meeting with the residence advisor. When she was younger she never had anything to herself, and Waverly decided to get a single dorm room. She wanted privacy, and something for herself – no roommates. Since she would have the room to herself, there was paperwork to be filled out. She gathered her thoughts and grabbed her room keys heading out the door.

Waverly lived on the second floor of the building, and the resident advisor’s office was on the first floor. As Waverly went down the steps, she thought about how she would introduce herself; reciting her introduction repeatedly in her head, “Hi I’m Waverly Earp, it’s nice to meet you.” She was determined to have a better encounter with the next person she laid eyes on.

She opened the door and recited eagerly, “Hi I’m – “  
She had to stop herself because the resident advisor seemed a little preoccupied.

Waverly didn’t know what was more embarrassing, the fact that her advisor was Nicole Haught or that she walked in on Nicole with a girl on her lap kissing her uncontrollably. As Waverly stood frozen, Nicole looked up for a brief second and noticed the same girl that was staring at her outside, staring at her now. 

Nicole broke up the steamy kiss and said, “hey, I should put a bell on you.” Waverly mortified, laughed slightly and explained profusely that she had a meeting with her. Nicole laughing said,” Is it 6:00 already?” 

Waverly looked down at her watch. 

It was 5:00. 

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me she thought

5:01. 

Waverly wanted to be anywhere but there. Turning bright red, she apologized and tried to hurry out closing the door behind her. But Nicole chased her down the hall and caught up to her in the stairwell. She grabbed Waverly’s arm and tugged it lightly in her direction. Waverly turned around and found that Nicole was smiling gently in her direction. Waverly couldn’t help but smile back. 

Nicole broke the silence and said, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, you looked startled back there, you’re a runner huh?”

Typically, Waverly would have just laughed and walked away. But she felt like she needed to explain her behavior,” This has been the worst day, I can’t seem to get anything right. And I’ve managed to embarrass myself twice in front of you.” 

Nicole laughed gently, and she told Waverly that everything was going to be okay, and reassured that she hadn’t embarrassed herself. Suddenly, Nicole remembered that her meeting was scheduled with an Earp. 

She introduced herself, “I’m Nicole Haught, and you are...” with her hand outstretched toward Waverly.

“W-Waverly Earp” she said with a smile grabbing ahold of her hand. 

Nicole quickly realized who she was talking to and said, “So you’re the popular Waves,” Waverly’s body shuddered as Nicole said her pet name, almost missing the second half of Nicole’s sentence, “well you’re definitely the sweetest Earp I’ve ever met, it’s really nice to finally meet you.” Waverly’s cheeks were filled with color, their hands were still holding onto each other, but neither seemed to notice or mind. Their eyes locked on one another. 

God those eyes Waverly thought.

There was brief moment where everything bad that happened to Waverly that day seemed insignificant, but the moment was interrupted by the girl Nicole had in the office. 

“Hey babe, I’m gonna head out, walk me back?” Nicole let go of Waverly’s hand and stuttered on her words. Placing a hand behind her neck, Waverly watched as Nicole’s hand left hers, and missed the contact.

“S-sure Shae, I’ll be there in a sec,” turning back towards Waverly she smiled and said “6:00, Waves?’

“6:00” Waverly answered.

As Waverly walked up a couple of steps, she turned around and caught a glimpse of Nicole staring at her.

“Nicole Haught,” Waverly whispered to herself heading to her room. The way the name rolled off her lips flustered Waverly.


	2. She's Haught.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly is dealing with the developing feelings that meeting Nicole has left her. She calls her sister, and Wynonna gives her a small bit of sisterly advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I didn't think that anyone would actually want a second chapter. But a couple of you did, so I decided to write a second piece that follows their first encounter. I am having a lot of fun writing these short pieces, so I will continue to update this story fairly fast if it's something that y'all want to continue reading. I hope you enjoy the story!

As soon as she walked into her room, Waverly called Wynonna. Of course her sister didn’t answer the phone. She was probably out on some crazy wild adventure, while Waverly was a tangled mess.

 _Why can’t people just pick up the phone, I mean why have phones at all if you're not going to pick up when your sister needs you,_ Waverly thought.

Her phone began ringing an hour later, it was Wynonna. Waverly answered the phone glad that she had someone to talk to.

“Babygirl, is everything okay?” The voice was familiar and made Waverly smile. “How's Haught treating you?” Wynonna said teasingly.

 _Oh my god did she really just say that_ Waverly thought.

“What? What do you mean?” Waverly asked nervously.

“Nicole, she texted me that she met you? Said that you were pretty charming.” Wynonna responded playfully noticing her sister’s nervousness.

“Yeah I mean she’s great too, she’s Haught.” Waverly chuckled then noticed what she had said and hid her face with her hand. She didn’t know why she hid, it’s not like Wynonna could see her. “I meant she’s Haught like her last name, but she is also very pretty –” she tried to explain.

Wynonna interrupted, “Babygirl, you be careful with Haught. If those walls could talk, well let’s just say we’d be needing a demolition crew.” Wynonna never held back, not a single thought. “I get it Nicole is a very simple girl, her parent’s are loaded with cash, she’s sweet, and loyal, but she has her own demons too.”

Waverly couldn’t get a single word out, she thought about her next words. “Wynonna, I don’t know anybody on campus. Nicole is my _friend_ okay. You should get it, you were her best friend, and she never hooked up with you.”  Waverly felt bad because lied. She didn’t just want Nicole to be her friend, she wanted more, a whole lot more.

“hey – Nicole could have done much worse than me.” Wynonna answered defensively. “And you could do so much worse than Nicole.” Wynonna couldn’t deny that Nicole had always been there for Wynonna and saved her from some dangerous situations. After all, Nicole was her most loyal friend.

The moment was interrupted when Waverly heard a beer bottle break in the background.

“Waves, I gotta run Doc and Dolls are – well they’re dumb. I love you, and I’ll tell Nicole to look out for you.” Wynonna said as she hung up. 

Waverly thought about what Wynonna had said. Nicole was a sweetheart, but she was a sweetheart with an incredibly beautiful girlfriend. And that thought made Waverly sad, so she decided to push the thoughts of Nicole out of her mind completely. 

Waverly showed up to the meeting at 6 o’clock sharp. Bouncing down the steps towards the office, she couldn’t contain her smile. Her smile grew when Nicole opened the door without her knocking. It seemed Nicole had been waiting for 6:00 just as much as she had. As Nicole opened the door, Waverly was able to smell the scent of the beautiful girl in front of her. Vanilla dipped donuts, the scent was Waverly’s favorite. It intoxicated her and blurred her senses.

“Waves” Nicole said softly. The smile on Nicole’s face was sweet, and made Waverly feel so warm.

Waverly couldn’t explain the rush that flowed through her entire body. She knew then that Nicole Haught was going to be the end of her. Waverly realized then that she was in deep trouble if she didn’t get a handle on all of these feelings. Nicole gestured that Waverly have a seat. Nicole explained the housing situation, as Waverly nodded. But Waverly wasn’t listening, she couldn’t. The same way she couldn’t help her eyes from wandering to Nicole’s soft pink lips. Waverly knew that her eyes were going there, which made the situation worse. Although she was aware, she still couldn’t control what was going on. Waverly wasn’t used to this feeling, she was used to guys throwing themselves at her. She was the popular girl in high school, a cheerleader. Dozens of eyes had unintentionally wandered on to her lips. She had always been in control, but here she was staring at Nicole like she was the sun.

“Any questions…” Nicole interrupted Waverly’s thoughts brushing a finger along the line of her lips. Waverly was caught staring at her lips, and quickly answered, “Nope, no, where do I sign.”

Nicole chuckled, flattered by Waverly’s fascination with her lips.

“Here” she pointed at the paper.

“Hey Waves, there’s a party a couple of my friends are throwing at a loft. Maybe it can turn your bad day around, want to come?” 

Without hesitation Waverly answered “Go with you?” 

Nicole smiled and said softly, “W-well with a group of friends, but yeah go with me?”

The eyes Nicole looked at Waverly with were impossible to turn down, “Parties, that’s my jam,” Waverly quipped.

“Awesome,” Nicole smiled, writing something onto a piece of paper.

_Room 117 at 10._

“That’s my room number, we can go from here and come back together.”

Walking Waverly to the door, their hands met when they both reached for the door handle. The touch was damn near electric. Something within Waverly knew that she had to have met Nicole Haught in another time or another life. Because these feelings didn’t feel brand new, they felt like they had been there all her life. Getting into her room, she shut the door and pressed her back against it. “Breathe Waverly, it’s just a girl.”

 

Waverly couldn’t find what to wear. She wanted Nicole to notice her, she needed to get a little more control in whatever this relationship was. “She has a girlfriend,” Waverly whispered to herself. Waverly wanted the thoughts of Nicole kissing her out of her mind. She stared at her outfit in the mirror, she knew she looked great. The way the black jeans clung onto her body, hugging all the right places, made her realize that she would definitely be grabbing all sort of people’s attention at the party. She threw on a ripped light blue jean jacket over her beige colored crop top. She shifted her attention to her watch. 10:15. 

“Shoot, I’m running late” she said, applying lipstick as she walked down the steps. She ran into Nicole on the stair case.

“Waves, I was just coming up to ask if you still wanted to go to the party, “she said not yet noticing what Waverly was wearing.

“You know where I live?” Waverly smiled noticing that Nicole was now staring her body.

“Wow.” Nicole’s eyes widened. “I-I mean, yeah, residence advisor, remember?” Nicole answered now unable to keep her eyes off of Waverly’s lips.

“Oh, right” Waverly smiled. “We should get going, your car or mine?”

“Mine.” Nicole answered. “Pretty girls like you should be driven. Everywhere.” Nicole looked at the ground realizing what she had just said.

Waverly smiled pausing to notice that Nicole was wearing jeans, boots, and a t-shirt with rolled up sleeves that showed off her biceps.

Somewhere in their conversation Shae had managed to enter the staircase.

 _That girl has the worst timing_ Waverly thought.

Shae managed to break the moment again. This time noticing that Waverly was taken with Nicole. Teasingly asking “She looks great doesn’t she?” then planting a steamy kiss on Nicole. As the kiss ended Shae bit Nicole’s bottom lip, pausing to make direct eye contact with Waverly and say, “Mine.”

 _How dare she kiss Nicole and say mine, Nicole doesn’t belong to anyone,_ Waverly thought to herself.

Waverly looked away slightly angry that Shae had the nerve to kiss Nicole in front of her. She had never felt jealously like this, not when she found out Champ, her ex boyfriend and longest relationship, had cheated on her. This was different, Nicole was supposed to be her friend, so how could watching someone else kiss her make her blood boil. Waverly had to control these feelings, or she could ruin her friendship with the beautiful girl. Instead she chose to play it cool, and thought of happier things. Like the way Nicole had stared at her before Shae interrupted, or the way her sweet scent drove her wild. 

 _Stop. Nicole is your friend Waverly, she's just a girl_  she thought as she walked into Nicole's car. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, feel free to leave tips or leave me suggestions for the story on tumblr @grizzygator. Always open to trying out new prompts. Have a lovely day!


	3. Nicole Haught. Mine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole's backstory is explored, and a little insight into her strained relationship with her parents is detailed. Nicole brings her crush and her girlfriend to a party at her loft. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to continue to update this piece often, until life gets the better of me or I get uninspired. I hope you guys enjoy the first part of the party. The second part of the party piece is still in the works and I'll probably be posting it soon as well. I originally wanted to write the party scene as one piece, but decided to add a little bit of Nicole's back story instead. Enjoy!

The party was in a two story loft that was beautifully furnished. Red brick covered the walls of the loft. Windows and a see through door covered the wall that connected the first floor room to the balcony. There was a staircase that lead to Nicole’s room, but nobody was allowed upstairs. It was modernly decorated with sofas arranged nicely inside of the loft. Hardwood covered the floors and a grand piano sat in the corner of the room. The space also included a dining room table, a large kitchen, and a bathroom on the first floor. The loft was a balance of both simple and luxurious tastes. The place itself was breathtaking, and a lot better than the beat up apartments that college students were used to having parties in.

It was Nicole’s parents’ loft that they had gifted to their daughter when she got accepted into college. Although she opted to live on campus, the loft was only a couple of miles away, and it was where Nicole entertained friends occasionally. The only reason she accepted her parents gift was because of the strict no-pets policy on campus, and she needed a place to keep her cat, Calamity Jane. Nicole would feed and spend afternoons with her companion in the loft and then return to campus. Nicole reluctantly let her friends borrow the loft for the night after her friend’s apartment became unavailable. She let them use it under two conditions. That she could invite whoever she wanted, and that random guests were not allowed to touch CJ.

When they arrived the loft was filled with people, and Waverly noticed that it had a great view of the city. Nicole’s parents had a lot of money. Money that could’ve bought Nicole more than just the loft, but she never mentioned that to anyone. She didn’t even mention that the loft was hers to Waverly when she initially invited her. Wynonna and Shae were the only ones that knew anything about Nicole’s economic status, and Wynonna had vaguely mentioned it to Waverly earlier that day. 

Nicole was very sensitive about the subject. She was aware that her parents could open doors for her, and because of that, she had worked harder her entire life to earn everything she had. Nicole paid for her college tuition with a sports scholarship for running track, and she got a job as a residence advisor to offset the cost of housing instead of having to move into the loft her parents offered her. Nicole loved her family, but she made it clear that she liked being independent from a very young age. She was an only child and her parents had always set unrealistic expectations for her to live up to. Her parents had always been very particular of Nicole’s friend groups and _who_ they wanted around her in terms of status. Wynonna Earp was definitely not someone that they wanted their daughter to be best friends with, and they expressed it to Nicole constantly. They met Wynonna a couple of times when they visited the campus, and they reiterated to Nicole that they were grateful she wasn’t romantically interested in an _Earp_. Nicole attracted a lot of girls, but was known to leave before things got too serious. A big reason for that was Nicole’s fear that her parents would set impossible standards for the girl she was dating. 

Sixteen-year-old Nicole had even prolonged coming out to her family because of that. She would have hidden it longer if she hadn’t been caught kissing her high school best friend, Sophie, in her room. Her mother asked Sophie to leave and proceeded to scorn Nicole for her interest in the girl. However, her mom wasn’t angry that Nicole was attracted to girls, and she comforted a scared wide-eyed Nicole. She told her daughter that she’s always known about her sexuality, and that she loved her dearly. But explained that she was upset at _who_ Nicole had chosen to get involved with. Nicole’s parents deemed Sophie unsuitable to date their daughter, and did everything to tear them apart. Causing Nicole to eventually break up with her first girlfriend in order to keep her safe from her judgmental parents. It was difficult for Nicole to leave Sophie and it was the first time Nicole experienced true heartbreak. The experience hardened her, and since then she made a conscious decision to make relationships strictly physical rather than emotional. Her parents’ controlling nature had strained their relationship over the years, and they could go months on end without talking. But Nicole’s parents absolutely loved Shae Pressman.

Shae was an aspiring doctor, and the Haught-Pressman families had been good friends for some time. The pair were officially introduced over the summer by their parents, and they hit it off instantly. Nicole’s confidence and charm made her irresistible to most, and Shae was no exception. The two quickly became inseparable. Spontaneous make out sessions weren’t surprising among the pair. Their relationship relied heavily on their attraction to one another, it was passionate and fun. Shae made it clear at the end of the summer that she wanted Nicole to be her girlfriend; she wanted an exclusive relationship. Nicole liked Shae a lot, but she couldn’t deny that a huge reason that she agreed to be with her was because it would make things simpler with her parents.

  

When they arrived to the party, Shae went to greet her friends. The music was loud and people were gathered dancing and drinking to the beat. The two had to stand closely to hear each other talk. Nicole looked at Waverly and apologized for Shae’s behavior in the staircase. She explained that Shae isn’t usually that possessive. Waverly smiled and pretended that it didn’t bother her. 

“If you were my girlfriend, I would kiss you like that all the time too.” Waverly blurted, and quickly regretted it.

Nicole blushed, her cheeks turned pink, she fixed her eyes on the hardwood floor beneath her.

In an attempt to keep herself from having to explain her last statement, Waverly walked over to liquor bottles that were placed on a table. She poured three shots worth of tequila into a cup and drank it straight, she shuttered at the burning sensation that filled her throat. Nicole raised her eyebrows slightly impressed. She walked over to her and said loudly, “So I guess that makes me the designated driver then,” flashing her a signature Nicole Haught smile.

 _Are you kidding, stop with the dimples Nicole. You’re making it hard to be your friend,_ Waverly thought as she walked away into the crowd of people.

After talking to a few people Waverly noticed Nicole out of the corner of her eye. She saw that Nicole sipped on a single beer and sat on an outdoor couch in the balcony that overlooked the city. Nicole had an orange cat on her lap; the cat was completely enamored with Nicole’s touch.

 _Welp that makes two of us cat,_ Waverly thought to herself.

Waverly wondered what thoughts ran through the beautiful girl’s mind. Waverly walked outside and sat next to her. The quiet was soothing. She smiled politely not wanting to interrupt Nicole’s thoughts. Waverly’s inhibitions were lowered, and she knew that she had to watch her mouth. “Can I?” Waverly asked pointing at the cat.

“Yeah sure, but she usually doesn’t respond well to – ” CJ purred as Waverly ran her fingers through the cats’ soft coat. “Nevermind, CJ seems to like you too,” Nicole added looking up to meet Waverly’s eyes.

 _Okay she said too, so that means she likes me one, right?_ Waverly thought. She couldn’t hide her smile. Trying to change the subject she said, “Nice place.”

Nicole’s smile faded, “Thanks, um. I’ll let my parents know.” Nicole placed the cat on the ground and CJ walked towards the cat bed set up in the corner.

Waverly noticed that she had hit a sour spot, “hey - I’m glad you invited me, I’m having a great time. I’ve met a couple of people.” Nicole was staring at the ground so Waverly bent her head to catch her attention and continued, “but if I’m being honest you’re the only one that I really want to talk to.”

Nicole laughed lightly to suppress her growing smile, “Yeah, I noticed. You sure know how to throw them back.”

“Well I learned from the best,” Waverly answered sharing an anecdote of a drunken night with Wynonna in high school.

Nicole was sober and completely aware that Waverly inched closer every minute they talked. She playfully touched the ends of Nicole’s hair and gently placed her hand on her thigh as she talked. Nicole unknowingly followed Waverly’s hand movements with her eyes, and it only encouraged her to continue doing it. Waverly definitely knew she was being flirtatious, but she didn’t have plans to stop. She knew that Nicole had a girlfriend, a gorgeous girlfriend, but couldn’t deny that they had a special connection. She wanted to pursue the red-haired girl. After all, flirting is innocent.

But Nicole was a very loyal person. She would never cheat on her summertime girlfriend or anyone for that matter. But she also wasn’t naïve, and the older girl couldn’t deny that Waverly’s pull on her was magnetic. Waverly could ask anything of her, and she would gladly abide. They had just met, but she felt an unexplainable attraction to the younger Earp.

“Waverly Earp, you are a mystery.” Nicole interrupted focusing her attention on Waverly’s fingers that were drawing patterns on the side of her jeans. Pausing her story, Waverly looked up into Nicole’s eyes.

“Am, I?” she said innocently noticing the charm in Nicole’s voice.

“Yeah” Nicole answered, “and there’s something about you that draws me in and I just - I just don’t know what it is,” she said softly. Nicole brought herself closer to Waverly. Their eyes met again, but this time they stared at one another like they were each others’ entire world.

 _You have a girlfriend; your heart can’t be racing, not like this. Come on, it’s Wynonna’s little sister,_ Nicole tried to reason to herself. _Oh no. I think I’m going to kiss her if she comes any closer._

Waverly wanted to kiss Nicole deeply then and there. She would have, if the thought of what would happen if Nicole pulled away hadn’t entered her mind. Fighting every instinct that told her to kiss Nicole, Waverly talked herself down. She was a planner, and she knew that this wasn’t going to be a fling. She was definitely not going to be just another girl that threw themselves at Nicole. She had to do it right, and most of all Waverly wasn’t going to be the one to make Nicole Haught a cheater. She wanted Nicole to want her just as bad as she did, without feeling guilty about it. But having Nicole this close to her was dangerous. Waverly needed to create distance between them, in order to keep herself from kissing Nicole the way Shae had in the staircase.

“Well I’m sure Shae’s looking for you” Waverly said sourly hoping to ruin the moment.

“Um, yeah you’re probably right,” Nicole said stuttering feeling like she had made Waverly uncomfortable.

Waverly watched as Nicole walked inside and into the sea of people to look for her girlfriend. She felt dizzy at the thought of the two together, and the alcohol coursing through her blood didn’t help. She sat on the couch grabbing the beer that Nicole had left behind. She watched as Shae wrapped her arms around Nicole. Rolling her eyes and taking a drink out of the beer bottle, Waverly grabbed CJ and whispered being petty, “Nicole Haught. Mine.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second half of the party brings trouble. I'm currently still writing it, but I can say that it gets both Waverly and Nicole in a bit of trouble. From personal experience mixing alcohol and feelings always leads to bad decisions, so the characters weren't exempt from that. Stay tuned. And thanks again for reading, and have a lovely day!


	4. Alcohol & Bad Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alcohol encourages bad behavior in both Nicole and Waverly. Things get a little bit twisted and exciting in the second part of the party scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is part two of the party, and I really enjoyed writing this piece. I hope you guys enjoy reading it!

Waverly didn’t entirely hate the idea of pursuing someone. She just didn’t know how. She had become accustomed to being chased. But in this situation, she was the one chasing after the beautiful girl. Her stomach turned just thinking about whether not not, Nicole felt the same connection she did.

Alcohol was known to encourage poor decisions in Earp women. It was alcohol to blame when she decided to give Champ Hardy, her ex boyfriend, her phone number. And it was alcohol now that allowed her mind to wander to a place filled with bad decisions. Waverly wondered if Nicole would react if someone kissed her. If she could make Nicole feel a fraction of what Waverly felt when she saw Shae kiss her, then maybe Nicole would realize that she had feelings for her.

 _Oh I guess I’m really doing this right now_ , Waverly thought as she looked around the room.

After all, random hookups were innocent and could be potentially fun. She saw Perry from across the room, an all-star quarterback for the school’s football team. Waverly instantly recognized him from the school brochures. Perry was similar to the boys that usually found themselves attracted to the young girl, so Waverly was confident she could get him to kiss her. Walking up to him, Waverly used her charm to her advantage. She lightly touched Perry’s arm as she talked, and he liked every second of attention Waverly was giving him.

However, she caught the attention of more than just Perry. Rosita, a smart beautiful girl, stared at Waverly. Rosita was leaned up against the wall with a red solo cup in her hand. Her eyes looked at Waverly the way Nicole had on the staircase. She boldly walked across the room towards Waverly and introduced herself.

“Hey – I’m Rosita, I don’t think we’ve met?” She leaned in close to talk to Waverly because the music was loud.

“I’m Waverly, it’s nice to meet you. You’re very pretty.”

“Are you kidding, have you seen yourself?” Rosita paused to take a second to admire Waverly’s beauty. 

Rosita was smooth with her words, and Waverly blushed at the idea that such a pretty girl had even approached her. She was taken back when Rosita asked her to dance. Waverly loved to dance but before she could agree, Rosita grabbed her hand and led her towards the crowd of dancing people.

Waverly couldn’t deny the initial attraction; it didn’t help that Rosita knew how to dance. When the tempo of the music changed, Waverly’s pressed her body up against Rosita. Rosita’s hands found their way to Waverly’s waist. They were moving together flawlessly to the beat of the song. They had an obvious natural connection. Sparks flew as the two continued to enjoy their time on the dance floor. Waverly looked up for a brief second and noticed Nicole’s eyes on her – along with the rest of the party goers. Nicole was absolutely mesmerized by Waverly’s movements. She even bit her bottom lip down lightly to keep her mouth from opening as she stared at Waverly helplessly.

Waverly closed her eyes for a second, and imagined that Nicole was the girl she was pressed up against. It was wrong, and she felt guilty when a wave of warmth came over her. Not thinking clearly, she quickly turned to face Rosita, and grabbed onto the back of her neck. The space between their lips was minimal. Knowing Nicole was looking, Waverly leaned in kissing Rosita hard. Rosita reciprocated the affection running her hands along the sides of of Waverly’s body.

Shae laughed as she held onto Nicole’s arm. “Wow, I didn’t think she had it in her, Rosita is easily a 10.” Rosita was stunning, and very rarely kissed people at parties. “And she must really like the new girl to kiss her like that in front of everyone,” Shae continued. She didn’t realize that her words only made Nicole hurt more.

Nicole couldn’t contain the rage that filled her body. She was angry. Mad. Furious. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and all her feelings for Waverly came clashing forward all at once.  She was upset that the same lips that talked sweetly to her earlier that night were placed on Rosita’s. She couldn’t entirely understand what she was feeling, but she did know that she couldn’t just stand and watch. She swallowed hard, and ran a hand through her hair trying to calm herself down. It took every ounce of will power to walk away instead of running over and pulling the two away from one another.

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to grab a drink,” she told her girlfriend.

Walking away from Shae, she grabbed an unopened bottle of whiskey off of the table. She knew she was the designated driver, but there are companies designed to take people home for this exact reason.

 _I bet Lyft and Uber were made because of girls like Waverly, they ruin you,_ Nicole thought as she opened the bottle.

The familiar taste of drinking whiskey reminded her of nights with Wynonna. Nicole really did miss her friend. When Nicole found herself having girl trouble, Wynonna would tell her to get over it by getting underneath someone else. But, she didn’t exactly know what kind of advice Wynonna would give her now, considering that the girl responsible for making her feel this way was her little sister. In need of fresh air, Nicole headed towards the balcony to process her thoughts.

Waverly broke the kiss with Rosita with a small peck, and looked to see if Nicole was still around. She noticed Nicole walking towards the balcony with a whiskey bottle in hand. Waverly smiled at Rosita, and pulled her aside. She apologized for kissing her so directly while Rosita laughed and explained that the kiss didn’t have to mean anything. Waverly was relieved because she really needed a friend more than a person to kiss right now.

 _Rosita is kissing my girlfr- my Waverly._ Nicole knew then that this feeling inside of her was jealousy in the purest form. She wasn’t familiar with it, but knew that as she stood and watched Rosita kiss Waverly her mind blurred her emotions until she only saw the faintest hint of red.

 _Oh no you left Shae in there, she’s going to think something happened. I have to make sure Shae is okay,_ Nicole placed her hands on her head and sighed. She knew she didn’t do the right thing by walking away, but she couldn’t stand there and pretend that it didn’t drive her completely crazy that Waverly’s lips had found someone else’s, and that those lips weren’t hers. Nicole felt guiltier at the thought because she knew that those jealous feelings should be reserved for her girlfriend.

Shae approached Nicole, “Everything okay babe?

“Yeah, just thought of everything I have to do this semester. So I decided to get a drink.” Nicole responded, surprised that Shae had followed her. 

“I know you’re under a lot of pressure, I’m here for whatever you need,” Shae said seductively. Nicole knew exactly what she was insinuating, it wasn’t out of the ordinary, they had a very physical relationship. 

Waverly made her way towards the balcony to talk to Nicole but noticed Shae was already outside with her. Shae had a hand pressed to Nicole’s cheek. She spoke softly to the red-haired girl. Nicole smiled at her and placed her hands inside the pockets of Shae’s sweater bringing the two closer together. They weren’t kissing but it somehow made Waverly feel worse. Waverly walked away feeling like Nicole hadn’t even cared that she shared a kiss with someone else. 

“We can disappear upstairs for a bit, I’m sure nobody will miss us,” Shae proposed, but Nicole turned her down. She knew that if she went upstairs at that moment, Waverly would be the girl on her mind and she couldn’t do that to Shae.

Waverly noticed that Nicole continued drinking as the night went on. And the more she drank, the more affectionate she became. She was now openly kissing Shae and had her wrapped between her arms. Shae didn’t mind, she enjoyed her girlfriend’s public displays of affection, especially if they were in front of Waverly.

As the night went on Shae suggested a game of truth or dare. People gathered around in a sort of circle. Familiar faces for Waverly like Rosita, Perry, Shae, and Nicole joined in. The game began and people were doing ridiculous things. Waverly wasn’t really paying attention. She was talking to Rosita about school. Waverly told her about her cheerleading scholarship, and how she was excited to begin practice on Monday. Waverly had dismissed that the game was even being played until she heard Shae dare Nicole to kiss the prettiest girl in the room. Waverly turned her attention to face the two and rolled her eyes knowing that Shae had done it on purpose. It was a low blow, and Waverly prepared for Nicole to turn to kiss her gorgeous girlfriend that stood inches away from her.

Unfortunately for Shae, Nicole was drunk. Nicole wasn’t thinking practically; she was thinking honestly.

“Okay, yeah, okay I can do that,” Nicole said smiling.

Nicole walked directly towards Waverly Earp. Waverly felt her pulse quicken and her eyes widened as she looked at the girl approaching her.

 _Is Nicole really about to kiss me, in front of Shae_ , she thought. 

Waverly prepared herself for the kiss, she licked her lips and looked directly into Nicole’s eyes. But before Nicole went in to kiss her she leaned into her ear.

“You’re so pretty and I like you so much,” Nicole said quietly enough that only Waverly heard.

Waverly never wanted to kiss someone so much. Chills ran up and down her spine, and she knew that this was going to be a moment that she didn’t want to forget. It was their first kiss.

She intertwined her fingers in a handful of red hair, and smiled at Nicole dangerously. Their hearts were both racing, and time stood completely still for a moment.

But before their lips could meet, Shae tugged Nicole’s shirt towards her. Not hard, but enough that it knocked Nicole off balance, Nicole laughed as she fell to the floor slowly. Shae angrily picked her up and grabbed her sleeve tugging her aside. The crowd of people groaned, unhappy that they didn’t witness the kiss that promised to be hot. 

Waverly couldn’t play off the sigh that escaped her own mouth if she tried. She was hot and bothered. Looking over her shoulder she saw Shae yelling at Nicole. She felt bad seeing Nicole get yelled at, but she felt worse that she didn’t even get to kiss her. 

 _Oh Nicole, next time less talking and more kissing,_ Waverly thought. 

She didn’t like that Nicole was in trouble, but also didn’t mind that the red-haired girl thought she was the prettiest girl in the room. Her words echoed in her mind.

 _You’re so pretty and I like you so much, my goodness Haught - you have no idea what you’re doing to me,_ she thought.

Rosita was nearby when the interaction happened and noticed that Waverly was completely infatuated with Nicole Haught. Rosita was intrigued with the way that the two were so oblivious about their feelings for one another. She saw Waverly looking for a way out of the party and offered her a ride back to campus, hoping to collect some intel on the two. Waverly gladly accepted, feeling like she now knew exactly where she stood with Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those two have really made a mess of everything, but I hope you guys are enjoying the angst that is WayHaught. I really am enjoying writing these pieces. I'm sorry that this is a super slow burn, I know that you guys are probably wanting them to just get together. I promise I'll try to speed it up! I have a general outline of where I want the story to go, but then I come up with some cute idea for them and get off track. But, I am working on not doing that so much. Thanks so much for taking the time to read it, and I appreciate the feedback. Have a lovely day! <3


	5. Track Field Views.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This piece focuses on the ongoing attraction that the girls are feeling towards one another. It has some sweet interactions and a foundation for the WayHaught relationship outside of a drunken night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to stay as genuine as I can to the emotions that the two girls are going through. A lot of my fic is written for anyone that's ever crushed on someone that they couldn't have (and not being able to get them out of their mind). I'm writing the pieces from that point-of-view, and I hope you guys like the interpretation. Love you guys, enjoy! <3

The car ride back to campus was short. Waverly tried making small talk, but Rosita was more interested in talking about the kiss that Nicole and Waverly had almost shared at the party. Rosita loved a good romance story, and she felt personally invested in this one. Normally she’d be upset that she was used to make someone else jealous, but she was flattered and felt a friend-like connection towards Waverly. Plus, she figured that having to watch Shae draped over Nicole was punishment enough. Rosita was more concerned about her new friend getting her heart broken.

As Rosita pulled over in the campus parking lot she looked in Waverly’s direction to insinuate that she wanted to talk. They sat quietly for a second before Rosita broke the silence.

“Well, you’re up against some tough competition.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Waverly said innocently, in an attempt to avoid the topic. Waverly denied the insane attraction she felt towards Nicole to herself, so denying it to anyone else who asked was a given.

“Fine, but I just wanted to say, I’ve been there – with Nicole.” Waverly’s eyes widened, she couldn’t believe that Rosita and Nicole had been together. That Rosita’s lips had kissed Nicole.

“You and Nicole?” Waverly asked nervously, unsure that she really wanted to hear the response to the question she posed. Rosita noticed the concern in Waverly’s voice and nodded, “Gosh Waverly don’t worry. It wasn’t anything special, we only kissed a little last semester,” she said teasingly, trying to reassure Waverly. Waverly would never admit it to Rosita, but she was relieved.

“Why would I worry? Nicole and I are just _friends_ ,” Waverly replied in a high pitched voice. Her voice would involuntarily get higher when she lied. Wynonna noticed it when they were younger and would always tell her sister to work on lying better.

Waverly thought about what Nicole had said to her that night. _You’re so pretty, and I like you so much_. She wondered how many other girls Nicole had said sweet things like that to. The thought of Nicole talking to other girls that weren’t her made her heart ache.

“Is there anyone she hasn’t kissed? -- Other than me” she blurted bitterly.

The thought of Nicole’s lips nearly touching hers, that night, ran into her mind. She closed her eyes and ran a finger across her lips. She was consumed in her own thoughts, and for a moment Waverly completely forgot that Rosita was sitting next to her. 

“You have it that bad, huh? Hey - the body and the eyes, I get it. Nicole is, well she’s Nicole,” Rosita swallowed hard before continuing, “But she’s known around campus for being a heartbreaker, and she never settles down for too long, so just be careful.”

“But I like her a lot, a lot more than I’d like to admit actually” Waverly sighed laying her head on the dashboard. Rosita placed a hand on her knee soothingly “I know; I swear that red-hair has magical powers.” Waverly laughed, and was relieved that out of this messy day she still managed to make a friend.

“I - I’m in trouble,” Waverly groaned as she picked her head up and stepped out of Rosita’s car.

“Wave, just thought you should know, the red-headed hottie couldn’t keep her eyes off of you either.”

 _Nicole looked at **me** all night_ , she thought as she walked away.

She didn’t know if Rosita had said that just to make her feel better about her impossible crush, but the thought of Nicole staring at her all night made her smile. She walked away feeling like Rosita had just given her the best gift. 

“Idiots,” Rosita whispered playfully as she drove away. 

When Waverly entered her room, she finally noticed her phone. She hadn’t checked it all night. The screen said it was 2:43 A.M., and she had 2 unread text messages from Nicole. She vaguely remembered entering her phone number into Nicole’s phone when they sat on the couch with CJ earlier that night.

Wave, it’s Nicole. Are you okay? I looked for you everywhere. I know I was your ride back. Text me please.    

                                                                              2:26 A.M

Waverly, getting worried now. Just let me know you’re okay?

                                                                                          2:41 A.M.

I’m fine. Got a ride from Rosita!

2:45 A.M

Rosita? Cool, have fun. See you around, glad you’re safe.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      2:45 A.M.

Waverly wasn’t sure why Nicole’s response was so satisfying to read. She loved that Nicole had worried about getting her home safe, but the last text Nicole sent her made her happier somehow. Nicole’s text had been impulsive, honest, and raw. She was jealous and probably going crazy thinking about what Waverly and Rosita were doing. Waverly laid down, and reread the message over and over, being careful not to reply. She put her phone down, smiling contently.

 _I think I might like college, I think I might like it a lot_ , she thought of Nicole once more as she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

Waverly woke up with a small headache. She washed her face thinking about all the things that happened the night before. Nicole almost kissed her, and publically admitted that Waverly was prettiest girl in the room. Nobody else had ever made her feel that good about herself. Smiling, she sat at her desk and began reading from her textbooks; she wanted to be prepared for class.

Waverly had a team bonding session with the cheerleading squad to look forward to later in the day. She was excited because she would get to meet everyone, and pick up her uniform. As much as she wanted to focus her attention on the many things she had to do, her mind couldn’t help but wander. She thought about how much she wanted to see Nicole again.

 

Classes began Monday morning, and Waverly was glad she had toured the campus the day she arrived. The campus was big, but she knew exactly where her classes were, and was pleasantly surprised when Rosita turned out to be in her Biochemistry class. Waverly loved being around Rosita because she was the only person that knew exactly how she felt about Nicole. Waverly trusted Rosita since the night she had brought her home, and the two were becoming close friends quickly.

Rosita was brilliant at anything science related, and agreed to tutor Waverly, if she ever needed it. A couple of days went by before she realized that Shae was in the class too. She only noticed when she saw Nicole walking through the doors of the science building. Waverly rolled her eyes when she realized that Nicole wasn’t alone. Waverly couldn’t pretend that seeing the two together didn’t bother her, not anymore. Her feelings since the day she met Nicole had only gotten stronger. 

 _Of course she’s walking her to class and carrying her books. Why does Nicole have to do cute things like that for **her**? _ she thought.

Nicole smiled brightly when she saw Waverly looking in her direction, but her smile faded when she noticed Rosita next to her laughing at something she had said. Nicole looked away quickly, but Waverly continued to stare at her longingly. Rosita teased Waverly, “Close your mouth Wave, she’s a mortal too.”

A week went by since Waverly attended the party. She saw Nicole around campus occasionally, unfortunately, it was usually when she walked Shae to class.

Towards the end of August, she saw Nicole on the track field on her way to cheerleading practice. Since then, she would purposely walk past the track field to watch Nicole practice. Getting to see her, even from afar, would brighten her day. Waverly found herself going out of her way to catch a glimpse of the beautiful girl without her plus one. After a couple of days Nicole began noticing the young girl, and would wave at her while she trained. 

 _She’s so beautiful,_ Nicole thought as she watched the girl.

The two were voluntarily avoiding their feelings for one another, feelings that were obvious to anyone else with eyes. Nicole would search for Waverly to walk by, just as much as Waverly would look for Nicole. The innocent interaction would make their bad days a little better.

 _That girl melts me with a smile,_ Waverly thought as she walked past the field.

Waverly was crushing hard, but denied it pushing the thoughts out of her mind. She focused on cheerleading practice. Cheerleading was something she was great at, and something that made her genuinely happy. Plus, it distracted her from thinking about her unattainable crush, at least for a little while.

Waverly liked her cheerleading squad, and she instantly bonded with a couple of the girls. After practice she would walk back to her room, usually catching a second glimpse of Nicole, who’d still out on the field building practicing. She loved Nicole’s dedication to the sport, and it didn’t hurt that she looked stunning doing it. The way her clothes clung to her body when she sweat, outlined her toned muscles, and revealed just how beautiful Nicole truly was. Waverly couldn’t deny that the attraction she felt towards her, when she saw her like that, only seemed to multiply. 

Waverly didn’t mind walking around the lit-up campus at night, and she definitely enjoyed it more in September. She would take her time pausing to notice nature. The breeze was cooler, and the scent in the air shifted. The only thing she hated about September was her birthday. For as long as she could remember, she’d never had anyone wish her a happy birthday.

As Waverly walked past the track field, she looked for Nicole. Suddenly, she heard a sweet voice behind her. 

“Waves, who ya looking for?” Nicole raised her eyebrows and smirked confidently, knowing exactly who Waverly was looking for.

Waverly didn’t like that Nicole was so cocky, “Better company, but I guess I’m stuck with you,” she responded playfully.

“Well I guess you are, here let me help you,” she said pointing at Waverly’s pink duffle bag.

“Oh, you don’t have to.”

“I know,” she said charmingly, grabbing the bag and throwing it over her shoulder. Nicole noticed the pom poms tucked into the side of the bag and smiled.

“Nice pom poms," Nicole said, intrigued to learn that Waverly was a cheerleader. "So, how have you been? You like school?” she continued.

“Oh, you really don’t want to hear about that,” Waverly said looking down.

“Sure I do,” Nicole smiled. 

As soon as Waverly began talking about school, she couldn’t stop. Waverly talked about how excited she was to start studying, and begin working towards her degree. She told Nicole that she was still undecided about her major because she was interested in too many things. About how her online credits transferred to the school, and how she was well on track to graduate within two years. Nicole loved the way Waverly’s eyes lit up when she was passionate about something. Waverly told Nicole everything that she had always been too afraid to share with others. More importantly, she wasn’t afraid to be herself around Nicole. Waverly felt safe with Nicole, like she finally found someone she could share her hopes and dreams with. She even shared small details, that anyone else would have found unnecessary, like the fact that she found online courses impersonal, and how she was thrilled to sit in an actual classroom. Nicole nodded at everything Waverly told her, and she smiled brightly when Waverly would over-explain something. Before she knew it they were at her door.

“Wow, did I really talk that much?” 

“It’s okay, I like listening to what you have to say, you’re pretty amazing,” Nicole looked at Waverly’s lips and licked her own.

 _She’s so pretty, I just want to-_ Nicole interrupted her own thoughts and placed Waverly’s duffle bag on the floor.

“Oh, I almost forgot. September 8th”

“You know my birthday?” she smiled, eyes fixed on Nicole’s face.

“I guess I do,” she smiled, “and it’s on my Residence Advisor board for September birthdays. Sooo, have you made any plans?”

 _She knows my birthday,_ Waverly felt her heart beat a little faster.

“No, not yet,” Waverly said curiously.

“Well you do now. Does 6 o clock, work?” she said.

“Yeah, that sounds great.” 

“I’ll see you around,” Nicole said turning her head to look at Waverly once more before she walked away.

When Nicole disappeared, Waverly craved another minute with her; she needed to be the only girl in Nicole’s life. Waverly Earp felt her legs grow weak as she picked up the duffle bag and opened her door. She had a desire to spend every moment with Nicole Haught, for the first time she knew that this was more than just a crush. She loved being around Nicole so much, and all she wanted for her birthday was to be hers. But reasoned that a birthday kiss might suffice - for now.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So will Waverly get a birthday kiss? dun dun dun. I'm actually leaning more towards yes, but still working out the details. So stay tuned! Also, thanks again to anyone that has been leaving feedback. It makes me so incredibly nervous to post something, so when I hear that you guys enjoy it, I feel happy. Have a very lovely day everyone! <3


	6. Sure She Has.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paradise with Nicole and Shae. Nicole plans Waverly's birthday and tries to make it as special as she can. She does so while she deals with the appearance of an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to establish the characters a little more, I worked hard to try and establish the dynamic between the characters. I hope you guys enjoy this piece <3

Birthdays were always over-the-top in Nicole’s family. Every year since she could remember, her dad would take her out for a day filled with all her favorite things. Over the years they spent birthdays at amusement parks, car shows, carnivals, and ice cream shops. Her father would bend to Nicole’s wishes, and made sure that his favorite person in the world had the best day possible. Nicole shared a powerful connection with her father, the two could read each others minds with a simple glance. Their bond grew stronger after Nicole came out, and they realized that they had something big in common – their weakness when it came to pretty girls. 

She was the only child of a fairly affluent family, so birthdays were just another excuse to shower her with attention and gifts. Although her relationship with her parents was strained due to years of judgmental comments, it was an unspoken rule that her birthday was the only day of the year that her parent’s had to keep their opinions about Nicole’s life to themselves. Nicole knew that her parents loved her dearly, and that they were only trying to look out for her best interest. However, she hated the fact that her personal lifestyle choices were typically the center of all conversations. Her father agreed with her mother because he truly believed that no one was ever going to be good enough for his little girl. Regardless, one day out of the year, they wouldn’t bother her about her friendships, career choices, or potential relationships. It’s safe to say that her birthday was something she looked forward to. The only thing she loved more than her own birthday was celebrating her favorite people’s birthdays. 

Nicole always went above and beyond to make her friends feel special on their birthday. Every year since she met Wynonna, she’d surprise her somehow. Wynonna genuinely appreciated the gesture, but she’d never admit that to her friend.

For almost a week, Nicole walked Waverly to her door, it became _their_ thing. Most days, Waverly would wait for Nicole to get out of practice. She’d sit on the bleachers and watch the pretty girl, smiling every time Nicole’s eyes met hers. After practice, Nicole would sit next to Waverly on the bleachers and they’d talk until the lights on the field were shut off. At which point, Nicole would walk Waverly back to her room, always flashing the famous Nicole Haught smile at Waverly before placing her duffle bag gently on the floor. Nicole loved every second she spent with Waverly because she’d get the chance to learn new things about her. Little things that only made her crush harder on the younger girl. Like how she smiled slightly before she laughed, and how her head fit perfectly in Nicole’s chest when they hugged. She learned the latter, when she asked Waverly if she was excited that her birthday was coming up.

“Well I am now, as a kid Wynonna didn’t remember. We lost our parents when we young, and well Wynonna was in her own world. Nobody’s ever remembered my birthday. You’re kinda the only person that knows.” Waverly replied.

“Wave- I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, really. It means a lot that you even knew my birthday.”

“I really didn’t mean to bring it up,” Nicole insisted, she felt awful that she even asked.

“Well if you feel that bad, you can totally make it up to me with a hug,” Waverly smiled playfully.

“Deal.” Nicole wrapped her arms gently around Waverly’s shoulders. It was then that Nicole realized just how small Waverly was. Waverly rested her face against Nicole’s chest, and she smiled as she wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist tightly. She was completely entranced with Nicole’s scent. The two embraced for a couple of seconds before Nicole’s phone began ringing. It was Shae. Waverly sighed lightly when Nicole pulled away. 

_I need that birthday kiss soon,_ Waverly thought.

“6 o’clock, don’t forget Wave!” Nicole said as she walked away. Nicole looked at her phone and noticed that Shae had left a voicemail.

“6 o’ clock,” Waverly replied unlocking the door of her room.

As Nicole walked away she turned to look at Waverly once more, and the thought of Waverly never having a decent birthday crept into her mind.  She knew she couldn’t make up for years of missed birthdays, but she would be damned if she didn’t at least try.

Nicole and Shae had been arguing a lot since the party. Shae couldn’t get over the fact that Nicole had embarrassed her in front of her friends by admitting that Waverly was the prettiest girl in the room. She hated how Nicole’s face would light up when she saw Waverly around campus, and felt like Nicole was slipping through her fingers. Because Shae knew a lot about Nicole’s past, she knew exactly what words hurt her most. She would purposefully break Nicole down in order to be the one to fix her. Their relationship was becoming borderline toxic.

Their relationship relied heavily on a physical attraction towards one another. However, Nicole no longer reciprocated kisses, and she seemed uninterested when Shae tried to initiate intimate moments. After a recent fight their relationship was up in the air and Nicole didn’t understand where they stood. Shae threatened to talk to Nicole’s parents to tell them that their daughter was single-handedly ruining the only relationship that they had ever approved of. The threat made Nicole sick, she would do anything to avoid her parents’ judgmental comments. Shae used the threat as leverage because she knew exactly how tough Nicole’s parents were on her, and that they could easily persuade their daughter to stay in the relationship.

The only thing that brightened Nicole’s days after fights with Shae was a small girl that smiled at her from the bleachers during track practice. With Waverly’s birthday around the corner, Nicole knew that it was the perfect opportunity to show Waverly just how much their friendship meant to her. Nicole liked Waverly a lot, and she felt guilty about it because she was still in a relationship with Shae. It’s the reason Nicole didn’t tell Shae that she had walked Waverly to her room every day that week.

Two days before Waverly’s birthday, Shae spotted her girlfriend as she walked Waverly towards the dorms. Pissed off was an understatement, she couldn’t believe that Nicole was hanging around the younger girl. She called her girlfriend soon after the two walked into the residence hall, but Nicole ignored the call. Shae left an angry voicemail, requesting that Nicole meet her at a bar across campus.

When Nicole arrived, Shae’s facial expression was cold. She knew exactly what she saw, and she didn’t want an explanation; she just wanted Nicole to stay the hell away from Waverly Earp.

“I saw you around campus with the new girl. Seriously Nicole, at least find someone that can stand to compete against me. You could do way better than an Earp, babe,” Shae said bitterly.

“She’s just a friend, and you don’t know a single thing about her so I’d stop talking if I were you.” Nicole said defensively, she didn’t like that Shae had talked about Waverly like she wasn’t good enough to hang around Nicole.

“I can’t believe you’re even defending her. Half of me wants you to leave me for her, cause your parents are going to have fun tearing that girl to shreds.” Shae raised her voice a little. She was obviously jealous, and wanted Nicole to stay with her.

“You know, you can be really mean sometimes Shae, and like I said Waverly Earp is just a friend,” Nicole tried to deescalate the situation. People were beginning to stare. Nicole didn’t want to break up with Shae because she knew it would make her family life impossible.

“Fine, Nicole but it’s me or her. Your girlfriend or your friend. Because I’m not doing this unless she’s out of your life.” Shae regretted giving her an ultimatum, but was confident that her girlfriend would still choose her.

Nicole stayed silent, she knew what Shae needed to hear, but she couldn’t get the words out. She couldn’t just cut Waverly out of her life because the young girl was the only thing that made her genuinely happy.

“Well, what’s it going to be,” Shae was growing impatient.

Nicole didn’t answer, instead she looked down at the ground hoping that it would get her girlfriend to drop the topic. But Shae was adamant, and the more time that passed the more upset she became. She couldn’t believe that Nicole didn’t choose her immediately.

Finally, Shae broke the silence, “Okay. But don’t expect me to be here when she tells you that she just wants to be friends.” Shae stormed out of the bar as tears rolled down her face. Nicole watched as people around them stared. Everyone in the bar quickly realized that the power couple on campus had just broken up.

It wasn’t long before news of the breakup spread. That night, her mom left dozens of voicemails and texts for Nicole. Apparently, Shae’s parents had called Nicole’s mom about the breakup. Her mom demanded and explanation from her daughter, but Nicole wasn’t sure what to say so she just ignored her phone.

Nicole was sad that Shae wasn’t in her life anymore. Being with Shae was comfortable, and she developed feelings towards the girl while they were together. However, she couldn’t deny that that those feelings were just not as strong as what she felt when she was with Waverly Earp. Trying not to think about the break up, Nicole began planning Waverly’s birthday. Nicole wanted Waverly to be surrounded by her favorite people, and that meant that she had to find a way to get Wynonna to make an appearance. She texted her friend.

 

Wynonna, I’m throwing your sister a small surprise party, you should come!

12:32 P.M

Woah, you only do that for people you really like.

2:50 P.M

What are you and Waverly like best friends now or something?

                                                      2:51 P.M

Just be here, it’d mean a lot to her!

3:05 P.M

                                                                                                                                                Wait, didn’t her birthday just pass?

                                                                                                                                                                                                      3:08 P.M

Wow. Okay, well now you definitely have to show up.

3:15 P.M

Okay, but if she asks, it was my idea.

                                                      3:30 P.M

 

 

Wynonna showed up to campus the morning of Waverly’s birthday. She was excited to help Nicole plan the surprise party. Wynonna loved her little sister, but was always in her own small world. She never meant to forget her sister’s birthday; she just didn’t think birthdays were a big deal. Wynonna walked around campus looking for Nicole, she found her talking to Rosita outside of the dorm rooms. Nicole was inviting Rosita to the small gathering.

“Miss me?” she said as she tapped Nicole’s shoulder.

“Earp!” Nicole’s exclaimed as she turned around to embrace her friend. Rosita rolled her eyes and walked away. She and Wynonna never had a great relationship, they usually found themselves attracted to the same guys throughout school. Rosita thought it was strange that she got along so well with the younger Earp when she could barely tolerate Wynonna.

“I see we still look as hot as ever.” Wynona said running her hand to outline her body trying to emphasize her point. “So what’s your deal with my baby sister?” Wynonna asked curiously.

“Wh-What do you mean” Nicole said nervously.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes and in a defensive tone inquired, “You replaced me for my little sister? Is she your new best friend or something?”

Nicole laughed nervously, “Oh, that. Well you just left me here, and I’ve really missed you Wynonna.”

“Don’t get all emotional on me Haught,” Wynonna said trying to steer the topic of the conversation. “Sooo where’s the ole ball and chain? Waverly mentioned that you got tied down while I was away.” making a gun to the head gesture while she said it. 

“Actually no, she gave me an ultimatum yesterday and well I couldn’t choose. So I guess that’s over”

“Up top! Single ladies, hey the only thing that could make this better is if Waverly were here. Just three single gals on the prowl,” Wynonna said laughing.

Nicole didn’t like lying to Wynonna, “Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about that, I kind of might.” Nicole lowered her face, she looked up momentarily to read Wynonna’s facial expression before she continued, “I sorta kinda might like –“

Wynonna was confused for a second before she realized what Nicole was trying to tell her. She interrupted Nicole’s sentence, “Nicole Haught, please don’t tell me what I think you’re about to say.”

Nicole was silent, she didn’t know how to tell her friend that she was falling in love with her little sister.

“Oh my god, Nicole, how would you like it if I said that I screwed your brother,”

“W-well I would be fine with it because I kinda don’t have one,” she smiled at Wynonna trying to make her laugh. She noticed that it didn’t help and continued, “Look I’m sorry, I’ve tried not thinking about her, but I like her a lot Wynonna. She’s _really really_ great, and I- I just wanna be with her all the time,” Nicole struggled to get all of her thoughts out.

“Nicole, if you say that you love her, I swear I will punch you,” Wynonna wasn’t sure how she felt about the two together.

She noticed Nicole had her pouting face on, and felt bad, “Well okay, does she like, you know, like you back.”

“I honestly have no idea,” Nicole said grateful that her best friend wasn’t yelling at her.

“Well you should figure that out, cause I know Waverly and she’s never even kissed a girl before,” Wynonna said trying to spare her friend from future heart break.

Nicole smirked and let out a small laugh, “Oh sure she has.” Nicole’s smile grew as she watched Wynonna face fill with surprise. Wynonna instinctively punched Nicole’s arm.

“Ouch, not me, okay. She kissed Rosita,” Nicole held her arm, but continued to laugh lightly.

Wynonna apologized for punching her friend, and talked to Nicole still trying to remain open to the idea of her best friend and her sister together. Wynonna was happy because she knew that Nicole’s intentions with her sister were genuine. Nicole spoke of Waverly in a different light than all the other girls Nicole had told Wynonna about. Wynonna was more worried that her friend would be heart broken. She definitely knew that she needed to talk to her sister - to see where she stood with Nicole.

As they decorated Nicole’s place, Wynonna asked Nicole tons of questions. Nicole did her best to explain how everything happened. It wasn’t long before Nicole sent Wynonna to pick up the sheet cake, while she transformed the loft. She used her first birthday party as inspiration. Red balloons filled the room, and streamers ran alongside the wall. A small piñata and drinks sat on a table in the center of the room. Nicole was happy that she could do this for Waverly. She ran upstairs to wrap the present that she picked out for Waverly. Nicole learned bits and pieces about Waverly gradually. She knew about the things she loved and the things she hated. She spent time thinking hard about what she could get her. She settled on a giving her a book that was extremely special to her. It was a fairytale themed book that Nicole’s dad gave her when she came out. He placed it outside of his daughter’s room, and it gave sixteen-year-old Nicole comfort. Inside of the book was an engraved message.

_Nic, I don’t care who you like. Just don’t settle for someone in fear that you won’t find someone better. Because baby you deserve the entire world and a half, and if the girl you’re with doesn’t make you feel like you do, then you’re not with the right one._

Nicole thought a lot about her dad’s advice recently. Since she met Waverly Earp, she’d felt an instant connection. Nicole was afraid to open up to Waverly because she could be the girl that destroyed her. Waverly made NIcole feel like she could do the impossible. When Waverly looked at Nicole she made her feel weightless. Waverly was the person that she didn’t know could exist. Although Nicole was afraid of her parent’s reaction, she didn’t care – so long as she had Waverly.

Underneath of her father’s engraving, Nicole added something:

_It’s the best advice my dad’s ever given me. Waverly Earp, you deserve more than the entire world and a half, and I want to give you it._

Nicole wrapped the book in beautiful wrapping paper, she wanted to give it to Waverly in the best moment. She placed it in the car just in case the moment happened on their way to the restaurant. She smiled as she tucked the wrapped book underneath the seat. She knew better than to get her hopes up, but she was almost certain that Waverly felt the same way. Shaking the thoughts of Waverly from her mind, long enough to get ready. Nicole wore a tight white shirt tucked into torn black jeans. She wore brown boots, and a green bomber jacket. She smiled in the bathroom mirror confidently, she was going to get her girl.

Wynonna laid on Nicole’s bed with CJ as Nicole got ready in the bathroom.

“Damn Haught, if Waverly doesn’t like you. Then I’m available.” Wynonna said teasingly standing up. "But wait," she undid Nicole's pony tail and ran her fingers through her hair to brush it. "Perfect." she said winking at Nicole. 

“Yeah, okay I need to go pick up your sister. And you need to catch your cab to the restaurant, I want Waverly to be surprised when she sees you," Nicole said as she gestured Wynonna to hurry up. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re saying that it’s my idea remember?” Wynonna said walking out the door.

Waverly struggled to get ready, she wanted to look great for her potential date with the beautiful Nicole Haught. She decided to wear a maroon shirt that showed off her midriff, and a tight black skirt that highlighted her legs. She knew the temperature outside was cooler now that it was September, but she also wanted an excuse to have Nicole close to her. She opted to leave her jacket behind, and she felt a wave of anxiety when she heard knocking at her door. Her stomach felt like it was the first day of high school, Nicole was the only the could induce this overpowering feeling of helplessness in her. All she wanted was a kiss, all she needed was to feel Nicole’s face underneath her breath. It was the only thing she’d been thinking about since the day they met. She closed her eyes and breathed, trying to calm herself, before she opened the door. Nicole looked at her and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life lesson: Inspiration comes from strange places. I wrote a lot of the ideas in this chapter and the next one Saturday night/ Sunday morning pretty drunk. I went to sleep thinking what I wrote was brilliant like genuinely believing that it was ready to be published. When I woke up and read it, I couldn’t stop laughing at the notes I left for myself. I spent the next two days editing and rewriting everything. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy a bunch of ideas inspired by drunk me. Thanks again for reading, you guys are all babes and I love every single one of you <3
> 
> The next chapter covers Waverly's birthday. I'm still working on it, but I have an idea of where the plot is heading. I've talked to a couple of you guys already, but please do feel free to talk to me and keep me company while I edit (such a long process) on Tumblr, all of you are so lovely. <3


	7. I Know Baby.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly's birthday dinner with Nicole and Wynonna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm definitely not a writer and I know I'm not a writer. This is really bittersweet chapter to write, so if you're not into angsty endings skip the last couple of paragraphs. I really tried out different endings, but this is the one that resonated with me the most. Super nervous for you guys to read, and I really hope you enjoy it. <3

Nicole was nervous as she walked up the stairs to Waverly’s door. She desperately wanted the night to be perfect for her. She put a lot of pressure on herself to make the night special because Waverly never had a decent birthday – she wanted to fulfill all of her expectations. Plus, it didn’t hurt that she loved seeing the pretty girl happy.

Nicole still wasn’t sure what exactly attracted her the most to Waverly. Sure, Waverly was beautiful, but Nicole had been with a lot of beautiful girls in the past, and none of them had quite the hold over her like Waverly Earp did. She knew Waverly was different, her soul was equally sweet as her body was stunning. It was why Nicole couldn’t get the girl out of her mind. Since the day she met Waverly, in the staircase weeks ago, she couldn’t go more than a couple of hours without thinking about her. 

Weeks ago Nicole wasn’t allowed to act on her impulses. Impulses that almost drove her to kiss Waverly at the welcome-back-to-school party. However, tonight was different, Nicole was newly single and knew exactly what she wanted.

Nicole couldn’t deny the magnetic pull that the girl had on her. All of her repressed desires to be with Waverly flooded into her mind the second Shae gave her the ultimatum. Although Nicole didn’t respond quickly, she made her choice almost immediately – it was Waverly. She knew then that she would forever choose Waverly Earp. When Nicole got home that night she admitted to herself that she didn’t want Waverly to just be her friend, she wanted her to be so much more than that. For the first time, Nicole wasn’t living day by day, the thought of Waverly had her planning an entire future. The thought of feeling so strongly towards someone without knowing if they felt the same was new, exciting, and slightly terrifying for Nicole all at once.

Even if she tried she couldn’t contain the feelings, that had developed slowly over the past couple of weeks, to herself – not anymore. She originally planned to ask Waverly out on a date after giving her the birthday present. Nicole stopped herself from thinking that far ahead when she remembered Wynonna’s advice. Nicole had to be careful, she knew that Waverly had probably never been in a relationship with a girl before; she ultimately decided to be Waverly’s friend until Waverly was ready for more. 

 _She might not even like girls, and even if she does –  I can’t rush her into anything,_ Nicole thought. She was afraid to put additional pressure on Waverly; she knew just how confusing and complicated coming to terms with your sexuality could be.

Nicole had a hard time finding the natural charm that she usually had. Her suave tactics and edge were out the window the second Waverly looked at her. 

As she approached the girl’s door she thought, _I’m Nicole Haught, I don’t get nervous in front of girls, girls love me._ She felt a surge of confidence as she knocked on the door.

When Waverly opened the door, Nicole said boldly, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the birthday –” Nicole stopped when she looked at Waverly. Waverly stared up innocently at Nicole.

“Wow. Um you look –” Nicole was speechless, she paused to regain her composure. She ran a hand through her hair trying to think about what she was going to say next, “A year older looks really good on you,” Nicole said bashfully.

“Well gosh, you sure know how to make a girl feel special,” Waverly blushed as she locked the door behind her.

“By the way, thanks for the midnight birthday text,” Waverly smiled, “it meant a lot.” 

“Well today is all about you, your wish is my command,” Nicole said beginning to walk towards the staircase.

“I’m holding you to that,” Waverly said flirtatiously, as she followed Nicole.

 _I’m sooo getting that birthday kiss tonight_ , Waverly thought.

When they got in the car, Nicole watched Waverly’s lips as she talked about something that happened at cheerleading practice. “So are we going anywhere or just gonna sit in the parking lot?” Waverly said playfully as she watched Nicole stare at her. She loved how Nicole watched her, and how nervous she made her.

Nicole continued to stare at Waverly’s lips before she realized that she forgot to start the car. As they drove away, Nicole said, “So I was thinking, birthday dinner with a special guest and then we’ll see where the night goes? 

 _Awesome. I bet the special guest is Shae_ , Waverly thought. She was unaware of the breakup.

“Sounds great,” Waverly said bitterly.

Nicole drove Waverly to a popular restaurant-bar hybrid in the city. Waverly smiled brightly as they walked towards the restaurant, “Wow, how cool!”

 _God that smile,_ Nicole thought. 

“I’m glad you like it, just wait till you see who’s waiting inside.” Nicole was sure that when Waverly saw Wynonna, it would make the girl incredibly happy.

 _I swear if she tries to get me excited about seeing Shae one more time,_ Waverly thought.

As they walked in Waverly heard a familiar voice coming from the bar. “No – you can keep the glass sir; I just want the bottle. No – just give me the whole bottle, and stop with the judging,” Wynonna said getting a little aggressive with the bartender. She turned around and noticed Nicole and Waverly at the door.

“Babygirl, happy birthday!” she said as she put her hands up in the air, “Before Nicole takes credit for everything, it was all my idea,” she said as she approached them. 

“Wynonna, I’ve missed you so much,” Waverly exclaimed as she embraced her sister tenderly. Waverly was touched that Nicole had gotten Wynonna to come out to see her for her birthday. She missed her sister dearly, especially now that she needed a bit of relationship advice. Waverly was terrified that Nicole would break her heart, but relieved that her sister was here now. She was confused because she had never felt a connection this strong towards anyone, and she definitely didn’t expect it to be towards another girl. Aside from Rosita, Waverly didn’t have anyone else to confide in. 

“So tell me, has HaughtStuff here been uh, taking care of you?” Wynonna winked at Nicole. Nicole turned bright red and looked away, embarrassed that Wynonna was literally trying to be her wingman right now.

“Well she can definitely take care of herself, but I have been looking out for her a little.” Nicole said trying to alleviate the tension Wynonna created, “Oh she is pretty close with your arch enemy though, but I can’t do anything about that,” Nicole said as she put her hands in the air insinuating that it wasn’t her fault. The waiter pointed them in the direction of their table. Wynonna sat next to Nicole and Waverly sat across from them in a booth.

“Wait is that why you were –” Wynonna said to Nicole, she remembered seeing her friemd talking to Rosita outside of the dorm rooms. “Wave – I heard you drunk kissed her but _please_ tell me you’re not friends with Rosita!”

Waverly answered defensively, “Well if you must know Rosita is more than a just a friend, Wynonna.” Although Waverly’s intentions were innocent and she was only trying to defend her friend, Nicole’s couldn’t help but react. Nicole’s face made it obvious that she was undeniably jealous. The more Nicole tried to hide it, the worse it got. She forced a smile and stirred her lemonade with a straw vigorously as she tried to repress the thoughts running through her mind.

 _More than a friend, what does that even mean Waverly_. 

They ordered dinner, and ate it while Waverly talked to Wynonna about school. Nicole had already heard most of the stories Waverly told, but she didn’t mind hearing them again because she loved listening to Waverly’s voice. Waverly enjoyed hearing about Wynonna’s adventures with Nicole, and she was glad that her sister loved her so much. For a moment she thought that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to tell Wynonna about her feelings for Nicole. She debated it as she looked at the girl in front of her, _how is she so perfect,_ Waverly thought _._

After dinner, Wynonna disappeared to the bar to ask for the whiskey bottle again. Waverly savored the alone time she had with Nicole. She reached out for her hand, and thanked her for doing all of this for her. She shivered when a rush of cold air ran through the restaurant, and for a single moment she regretted leaving her jacket behind. Nicole noticed the goose bumps on Waverly’s arms, and she quickly took off the jacket she was wearing. Nicole put it over Waverly’s shoulders and sat next to her in the booth. Waverly smiled at the gesture.

“You look better in it than I do,” Nicole said as she turned to face Waverly.

“You know, only one thing would make this entire night complete,” Waverly said as she stared right back at Nicole. Suddenly she got incredibly nervous. “Actually never mind,” Waverly said shyly.

“Anything you want, just tell me,” Nicole replied softly.

“I just want,” Waverly stared at Nicole’s lips and swallowed hard trying to muster up a little bit of courage. “I just” she leaned into Nicole and placed a hand on her leg. Their eyes were locked on one another, “I really want you to kiss me Nicole.”  

“Alright guys, I got the bottle to-go,” Wynonna clapped loudly as she placed the bottle on the table; completely oblivious that she had just interrupted the two.

 _Wynonna freaking Earp, are you kidding me,_ Waverly thought.

“Yep, yeah let’s head out,” Nicole said startled as she stood up from the booth. She pointed at the door nervously for no reason. 

Wynonna led the way, and the two girls followed. Waverly ran her fingers across Nicole’s hand and held it for a second before letting go. Waverly wanted Nicole to know that she still expected a kiss at some point.

As they walked towards the car, Wynonna called shotgun immediately. Waverly rolled her eyes and jumped in the back seat.

“I have to pee Nicole,” Wynonna said while she adjusted the seat.

“Yeah, we’ll be on campus in a bit.”

“No, your loft is closer,” Wynonna whined.

“Can’t you hold it.” 

“Nicole!” 

“Fine, fine.” Nicole said. They had rehearsed this exact conversation before, it was how they planned to get Waverly to the loft where her surprise party awaited without her suspecting something was up.

Wynonna put the volume up when her favorite song played on the radio. Waverly smiled from the back seat, she loved how incredibly patient Nicole was with Wynonna. They arrived to the loft shortly. 

“Here’s the key,” Nicole said as she threw it out the window to Wynonna, who was already halfway to the front door. Wynonna was supposed to make sure that everyone was in place to surprise Waverly.

The two talked for a couple of minutes before Nicole said, “That reminds me, I actually have to run inside and grab something, come with me?” she smiled as she turned around to look at Waverly who was in the backseat. Waverly nodded politely.

Nicole got out of the car and opened the door for Waverly. She paused for a second when she noticed that Waverly had stopped walking towards the front door.

“Wave – come on,” 

“Wait, I’m pretty sure you still owe me something,” Waverly replied, certain that the loft was empty. Nicole panicked a little, everyone inside could hear their conversation. She couldn’t kiss Waverly while everyone inside waited for Waverly to walk through the doors. Waverly grabbed Nicole’s arm gently, and leaned into Nicole a little.

“As much as I really – really want to – hold that thought,” Nicole whispered as she pulled away. “I just really need you to open this door first Wave.”

 _What does opening the door have to do with kissing me,_ Waverly thought. 

Regardless Waverly pushed the door open and everyone inside yelled, “Surprise!”

Waverly was definitely surprised; she didn’t expect anyone, other than Wynonna, to be on the other side of the door. She understood then why Nicole had pulled away. Although she loved the gesture, for the last couple of hours she craved alone time with Nicole more than anything. The tension building within Waverly all night could only be resolved with a kiss.

As Waverly walked inside she noticed that the place was decorated beautifully. It was an old school birthday party theme. There were red balloons, party hats, streamers, and a piñata. It was everything Waverly had missed out on as a kid. She absolutely adored that the person responsible for all of this was Nicole. She loved that she gone out of her way to do all of this just for her.

Waverly noticed her aunt Gus, Rosita, the majority of the cheerleading squad, Wynonna’s guy friends Doc and Dolls, Wynonna, and a couple of random kids from school. She walked around the room and greeted everyone warmly. The room was filled with people that cared a lot about Waverly, and it made her extremely happy. The only person missing was her sister Willa. Willa was always caught up in her own life, and never made time for her family so Waverly didn’t expect to see her.

Nicole and Waverly stared at one another from across the room for the majority of the night. Nicole sipped on her drink lightly and swayed to the music playing in the background. Wynonna stood in front of her, but her eyes were fixed on Waverly who was laughing at something Doc said.

 _I swear I could spend the rest of my life waking up next to that smile,_ she thought as she tried refocusing on Wynonna.

“Nicole are you even listening – I said I don’t know if I like Doc or Dolls more. I’m kinda in crisis here!” 

“Yep, I say you go with your gut on that one,” Nicole answered uninterestedly. She placed her drink on a small table behind her as she made her way towards Waverly. She pulled the birthday girl aside gently, and the confidence she had built up was gone the second Waverly smiled at her. Her moon shaped eyes killed her every single time.

“Nicole, thank you so much for this again, you don’t know how much it means to me,” Waverly held onto Nicole’s hand for a second. Nicole eyes switched between looking at Waverly’s eyes to noticing every movement her body made towards her. When Waverly was around she forgot how to speak and how to act.

Rosita watched the entire interaction from afar, she knew that Nicole was very good at talking to girls, but didn’t understand what happened to her when she was around Waverly. She thought that maybe all Nicole needed was a gentle push. Waverly’s back was to Rosita, so Nicole could see her approaching but Waverly couldn’t.

“Yeah I just –” Rosita interrupted Nicole’s sentence when placed her arms around Waverly’s waist slowly and kissed her cheek lightly. “Hey birthday girl, I thought nineteen looked good on me but damn – you’re a total babe. Don’t you agree, Nicole?”

Waverly wasn’t sure why Rosita was being this affectionate, but smiled and kindly turned around to face her friend.

“How are you always this smooth?” Waverly answered. She was flirtatious in nature. Nicole’s turned away, unable to watch the two flirt with each other right in front of her. Nicole walked away feeling like she couldn’t compete with Rosita. Waverly made Nicole irrationally jealous, and it didn’t make sense to her.

 _Rosita is not that smooth, I’m smooth_ , she thought as she walked back towards Wynonna.

Waverly watched as Nicole walked away, and asked Rosita, “Not that I’m not flattered, but what was that about?”

“Wave – last time I wasn’t ready, I didn’t know that I was making someone else jealous, but now I’m totally ready.”

“I don’t really think –” before Waverly could finish Rosita grabbed her hand and guided her to a couch in the back of the room. 

“Sit down,” Rosita instructed. When Waverly sat down, Rosita sat on her lap and twirled the ends of Waverly’s hair. 

“Just listen, as we speak, the hottie is looking at us,” Waverly listened to what Rosita was saying, “a jealous Nicole almost kissed you in front of everyone weeks ago, so I’m just giving her a little push.”

Rosita leaned into Waverly’s ear, “I bet she’s going crazy thinking about what I’m whispering into your ear right now. 

Rosita was right, Nicole was unable to keep her eyes off of the two. She was angry that Rosita was being affectionate towards Waverly. Nicole knew that she only needed one more opportunity to win Waverly over.  She knew that Waverly would ask her for a birthday kiss at some point. Nicole was confident that it would be _the moment_. She would kiss the girl and give her the present. But for now, all she could do was wait. She watched as Rosita whispered something into Waverly’s ear, Nicole rolled her eyes and looked away.

Waverly instantly felt bad about making Nicole jealous, but she enjoyed the idea of Nicole pursuing her. “Now pretend, I just told you something incredibly hot, and walk away. Oh and Wave –” Rosita spilled her drink on Waverly’s shirt as she stood up. “Looks like you might need to borrow a clean shirt from someone upstairs, you’re welcome.” Rosita smiled. Waverly smiled back at her friend, before going to look for Nicole. She tapped Nicole’s shoulder who was busy judging an arm wrestling contest between Doc and Dolls. Nicole immediately smiled when she realized it was Waverly. She noticed Waverly’s shirt.

“Wave – your shirt it’s uh kinda soaked. I can let you borrow one of mine if you want?”

“Yeah that’d be great, lead the way,” Waverly extended her hand.

Nicole smiled and held onto it bringing her up the stairs to her room.

Nicole’s room was spacious and furnished nicely. Her bed was centered against a single wall with a white duvet cover thrown over it. An extensive record collection sat in the corner of the room. Next to it was a beautiful wooden desk. On the desk were books, a laptop, and scattered papers with doodles of ideas that Nicole had written out. Nicole’s room was completely dark when they walked in. Waverly felt a little nervous standing alone in the middle of a dark room. Nicole walked directly towards the bathroom that connected to her bedroom and turned on the bathroom light to find a towel for Waverly. Waverly could see part of Nicole’s room.

“Go ahead and switch the lights on Wave, the switch is next to the bed.” Nicole voice echoed from the bathroom.

Waverly tried to turn on the main lights, instead she accidently turned on the string lights that hung from the ceiling. The room was lit up beautifully, and Waverly was amazed when she finally saw the entire room.

Nicole walked out of the bathroom with a towel in her hand, “Wrong lights,” Nicole smiled as she walked over to the bed to switch on the main lights.

“No, stop, I like this better,” Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand to stop her. The dim lights made the room appear almost magical. 

“Whatever you say, you’re the birthday girl,” Nicole answered.

Nicole grabbed the magazines that Wynonna had been reading, on the bed earlier, and placed them on the nightstand. She nervously cleaned up even though the room was spotless.

 _She’s actually in my room,_ she thought excitedly.

“Sorry I don’t spend too much time here, I’m usually at school, it’s a little all over the place,” Nicole tried making small talk to distract from the fact that she was nervous.

“Are you kidding, I never want to leave this room. The only thing that would make this better is if I could get out of this shirt.” Waverly knew exactly what she said. She expected Nicole to flirt back. Nicole laughed slightly before walking over to the dresser. She grabbed a distressed band t-shirt from the top drawer. She tossed it to Waverly, and Nicole walked out of the room to give Waverly privacy to change.

 _Why won’t she just kiss me,_ Waverly thought as she put on Nicole’s shirt. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she loved wearing Nicole’s clothes. It made her feel closer to her somehow.

Waverly looked around the room for a minute, the room was a creative expression of who Nicole was. There were contemporary portraits of women hung on the walls. Since the two became friends she noticed that Nicole had a hard time opening up, being in her room allowed Waverly to learn little things about Nicole. She took her time looking at everything in the room. 

Nicole walked back into the room after five minutes. She noticed Waverly was walking around the room focused on every detail. She stared at her for a while, smiling at how curious Waverly seemed to be. Waverly stopped and picked up one of the picture frames on Nicole’s desk. She smiled as she looked down at a picture; in the photo Nicole sat in the back of a pick up truck with her high school friends. Nicole had her arms wrapped around a beautiful girl. What caught Waverly’s attention the most was the smile on Nicole’s face.

 _She’s so happy, I love that,_ Waverly thought. She was a little surprised when she noticed Nicole standing behind her.

“Hey, where is _this_ Nicole?” Waverly smiled widely pointing at the picture – still thinking about how happy Nicole must have been when the picture was snapped.

Nicole looked at the picture, “I’m not sure sometimes – ya know, I was _madly_ in love with a beautiful girl when that picture was taken.” Nicole smiled as a vague memory of her high school sweetheart crept into her mind, she continued, “Recently I’ve been thinking that _this_ Nicole is making a come back though.”

“Right, Shae – she’s a really special girl,” Waverly struggled to get the words out.

 _Great, she’s madly in love with her. How am I supposed to ask for a kiss now,_ she thought.

“Yeah she is, but I’m kinda not talking about her.” Nicole’s eyes waited patiently for Waverly to look up at her. “We’re actually not even together anymore,” she admitted.

“Oh I’m so sorry, I didn’t know,” Waverly said trying to over explain and apologize. She couldn’t hide the fact that the news made her happy, and Nicole noticed.

 _Woah best birthday ever,_ she thought.

Nicole felt extremely confident that this was the moment she’d been waiting for all night, “No actually I’m sorry, that I interrupted you earlier, what was it you were trying to tell me outside?” she said biting her bottom lip slightly, “something about a kiss –” Nicole whispered as she got closer to Waverly.

Nicole placed her hands on Waverly’s back and pulled Waverly in closer. She couldn’t think about the consequences or she would have stopped herself. Nicole smiled gently before picking Waverly up with ease and placing her down gently on top of the desk. Nicole placed her body between Waverly's legs and smiled waiting for Waverly to initiate. Waverly's body was reacting faster than her mind could process what was going on, her body gravitated towards Nicole. Nicole was patient, she wanted to make sure that Waverly was completely comfortable with what was going on.

But Waverly was breathless, she couldn’t believe that Nicole was standing in front of her. She placed one hand gently on the back of Nicole’s neck, and the other caressed Nicole’s face. Nicole pressed her lips on Waverly’s forehead still trying to decide whether or not she was going to do it. Nicole had always put everyone else’s feelings before her own. It stopped her from pursuing the things she really wanted. Waverly felt nervous when Nicole stood completely still.

“Nicole you don’t have to –”

Nicole couldn’t stop what happened next. She closed the distance and kissed Waverly hard. She used her hands to steady Waverly’s face while she guided the kiss. A wave of electricity jolted through Waverly’s entire body, she’d never felt anything like it. She felt a warmth in the pit of her stomach. Waverly moaned lightly as Nicole’s hands pulled her hips in closer. Nicole ran her hands against the sides of Waverly’s body, and she snaked her tongue gracefully into Waverly’s mouth. Nicole’s lips were so soft and Waverly didn’t want the kiss to end. Nicole was used to being in control, she was inherently dominant in her relationships – but Waverly was too. They pulled away for a brief second.

"Nicole, that was, I mean at least for me it was -" Waverly said as she placed a hand on Nicole's chest, their faces still close together. Waverly was shocked that the kiss was that intense. 

 _I see why Shae kissed her every chance she got,_ Waverly thought. She touched her lips craving more. 

Nicole tucked a loose strand of hair behind Waverly's ear and whispered softly "I know, baby."

The word ‘baby’ gave her goose bumps, it triggered something within her. Waverly felt her body instantly respond to Nicole's voice. She hopped off of the desk and pushed on Nicole's shoulders until she could get her against the nearest wall. Their lips were pressed tightly together, and the kiss became messy. She ran her fingers through Nicole’s hair and guided the kiss this time. Nicole noticed that Waverly liked to set the pace, and slightly enjoyed that Waverly had taken complete control of the situation. Their kisses were becoming desperate; it was weeks’ worth of anticipation colliding into one moment. Their breaths became labored as they struggled to satisfy a growing need to be closer somehow. 

Waverly paused for a second and looked up at Nicole who stared at the girl helplessly. It was clear that Nicole was no longer in control, Waverly was. Nicole had voluntarily given up every ounce of control to the pretty girl in front of her. In a desperate attempt to feel closer to Nicole, Waverly pulled up Nicole’s shirt, and moaned into Nicole’s mouth as she felt the warmth of her body. Nicole’s pulse quickened as Waverly pressed her hands against her skin. Waverly wanted Nicole, she needed her right then and there. Her core ached for relief that only Nicole could provide. Waverly still had Nicole pinned up against the wall, she bit Nicole’s bottom lip and whispered ‘ _mine’._ Waverly reached for the button on Nicole’s jeans. Nicole paused for a second; it took everything inside her to stop.

“Wave, wait. I don’t wanna pressure you to – it’s a big step and – and,” Nicole paused and turned to face the door. “—and I actually think someone is coming up the stairs.”

Wynonna walked in a little drunk, “Hey Wave, you up here – oh shoot.” Wynonna watched Nicole stumble to pull her shirt down.

“Yeahhh – I’ll be right back, literally one minute” Nicole said trying to let Waverly explain the situation to her sister. Nicole used the opportunity to cool down and go downstairs to get the present from the car.

Wynonna and Waverly sat in silence for a minute. Waverly didn’t know what to say.

“I didn’t even know you were into girls,” Wynonna said a little offended that Waverly didn’t tell her about it. Waverly was afraid that Wynonna would judge her relationship with Nicole unfairly. “Nicole is just fun, it’s not like I want to be with her, she’s just very attractive is all,” Waverly instantly felt guilty that she had denied Nicole. 

“Okay well does Nicole know that? Wave – I think she really likes you, come on are you really saying you don’t like her back?” Wynonna couldn’t believe she was actually trying to set her best friend up with her sister.

“God Wynonna, it’s not like I could ever fall in love with her, it’s just fun to mess around with her, she Nicole Haught – she kinda has a reputation for stuff like this,” Waverly didn’t mean to say the words but she also couldn’t stop herself. She barely understood what was going on herself, and she didn’t want her sister labeling her on top of that.

Unfortunately, Nicole overheard part of their conversation when she walked back upstairs to give Waverly the present. She placed the present on the floor and walked down the stairs, she needed to get as far away from the situation as she could.

“That’s a little harsh babygirl, Nicole is a great person. And oh my god your voice got higher when you said you could never love her, you’re lying, you totally like her,” Wynonna said gloating – like she had just solved a cold case. 

Waverly was embarrassed, she couldn’t deny her feelings anymore, she put her face in her hands, “Wynonna I think I might more than like her.”

“Yeah um gross,” Wynonna didn’t like thinking about the two together. “But I suppose Nicole is pretty great,” Wynonna smiled and the two embraced. Wynonna was glad that Waverly had someone like Nicole in her life.

“I think I’m going to wait for Nicole to come back, so feel free to just –” Waverly pointed towards the door. 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. Again super gross.” Wynonna said as she walked out of Nicole’s room.

Nicole was a complete mess downstairs, the more she tried to ignore what she heard, the sadder she became. She couldn’t stand to be in the loft, it was suffocating. She ran into Wynonna, who was smiling as she walked down the stairs, on her way out of the door. Wynonna realized that Nicole’s eyes were glossed over and on the verge of tears. “Haught! Wait – what’s wrong?” she walked towards her best friend. Nicole dashed out the door before Wynonna could stop her. She could feel her breaths getting shorter and more desperate, she rushed to her car trying to find a place to sit down.

She sat in the car for a moment as tears streamed down her face. This was exactly why Nicole didn’t like making emotional connections with girls. She got her hopes up that Waverly liked her back, and now she was alone. She placed her head against the steering wheel trying to find comfort in anything. There was an ache in the center of her chest, it felt like the feeling would never go away. She tried to calm herself down by steadying her breathing. She wiped her eyes and tried to concentrate on something else. Nicole wasn’t angry at Waverly, she blamed herself entirely. 

 _You knew there was a chance she didn’t like you, and you still did it anyways,_ Nicole thought.

Nicole noticed Wynonna looking for her outside, and she started the car. Nicole drove for hours until she had no idea where she was. Completely lost Nicole pulled over to check her phone and saw a couple of missed calls and unread messages from Waverly.

Hey where’d you go?

1:15 A.M

Nicole is everything okay?

2:27 A.M

Yeah everything is great Wave, something just came up.

Feel free to stay there with Wynonna tonight.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

3:12 A.M

Well I miss you, I waited for you to come back.

3:15 A.M

Nicole put her phone down. “What are you doing to me Waverly,” she whispered to herself. The ache in her chest felt like it settled in, and Nicole couldn’t escape the feeling. As she stared up at the roof of the car, she closed her eyes for a second, her throat felt knotted. The feeling was vaguely familiar to Nicole, and she opened her eyes when she recognized it. Waverly Earp had broken her heart.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi cuties :) I hope you don't completely hate me for the ending, I promise that it won't be in vain and that I'm going somewhere with that. Like always, thanks for reading and let me know what you guys think. Love you all. <3
> 
> Also one of you messaged me that you wanted to read Rosita flirt with Waverly again, so I hope you enjoyed the way I wrote it in :)


	8. I'd Go Anywhere With You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst, angst, resolution?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, it took me longer to update this than I originally thought that it would. I couldn't bring myself to write angst while I was overwhelmingly happy. But, somehow I pushed through it, and I hope you guys like this piece.

After what seemed like hours of senseless driving, Nicole somehow ended up back on campus. As she walked towards her room, she felt incomplete. Almost like she was missing a piece of herself that wasn’t ever hers to begin with. She knew that she couldn’t blame Waverly for not wanting an actual relationship with her, but that didn’t make her feel better about the situation.

 _Just stop thinking about her,_ she whispered to herself as she laid down on the bed. Surprisingly, saying it out loud didn’t seem to work. Nicole stared up at the ceiling, and all she could see was Waverly’s smile. She felt a gaping hole in the center of her chest, it was the kind of ache that left a bitter taste in her mouth.

 _I’m not okay,_ she mumbled as she turned around to shove her face into the pillow. She tried her best to sleep but she couldn’t, every time she closed her eyes, she remembered their kiss. Her throat felt knotted and heavy, like the feeling of not having Waverly would always hurt. Nicole knew that the closer she became to Waverly, the more she’d fall in love with her. 

The only probable solution she could find was to distance herself from Waverly completely – but the thought of that made her feel worse somehow. Nicole made a detailed plan of how she’d get over Waverly Earp in her mind, it seemed simple enough. Except that the first step involved getting the girl out of her head. And that, well that seemed nearly impossible right now.

Knowing she wouldn’t get any sleep that night, Nicole rolled off the bed and changed into some black sports leggings and a t-shirt. As she tied her running shoes, she closed her eyes for a second. Nicole said a silent prayer to a greater power that she didn’t believe in.

 _Someone out there, if you’re even listening, please help me get over the eyes,_ she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. 

In times of trouble the only thing that distracted Nicole was running. It was usually therapeutic and calming, but that night she ran desperately. She ran until she was weightless; until her feet didn’t feel like they were touching the ground anymore. It was the closest thing Nicole knew to flying. She only stopped when her body physically gave up; until her lungs were on fire, and she couldn’t catch her breath anymore. She found a bit of comfort in feeling literally breathless because absolutely breathless was the way that Waverly made her feel every time she was around her. For a split second, as she gasped for air, Nicole forgot that she overheard the conversation and that everything was okay between the two. Nicole put her hands above her head trying to steady her breathing.

Unfortunately, when her body relaxed again Nicole returned to reality. A reality where Waverly would never want her, and the thought of that was enough to make her start running again. Nicole walked back to her room as the sun was rising. She thought about how different the night could’ve played out. She laid her head on the pillow and thought about it, finally tired enough to fall asleep.

 

 

Waking up in Nicole’s bed felt lovely for Waverly. She smiled when she remembered she was wearing Nicole’s shirt. Something about waking up in Nicole's room made her extremely happy. Wynonna handed Waverly a present as she walked downstairs and said, “Found this outside her door.” Waverly smiled when she noticed it was from Nicole.

“Oooo Waverly’s lady-friend gave her a present,” Wynonna mocked. “Well are ya gonna open it,” Wynonna asked curiously.

“Not right now,” Waverly said setting the present down. She didn’t open it because she wanted Nicole to be there to see her reaction.

“So I take it from your smile, that Nicole ended up coming back last night?” Wynonna sipped coffee from a mug.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, she drove out of here like demons were chasing her, and her face was sadder than I’ve ever seen it,” Wynonna said nonchalantly flipping through a magazine. Wynonna looked up for a second and noticed that Waverly's face demanded more information, “Just thought that she might’ve come back and told you about it.” Wynonna raised her eyebrows. “Ew, did you guys –” Wynonna put her coffee mug down on the table, and paced in the kitchen.

“No, she never came back,” Waverly responded in a concerned voice.

“Well thank god for that,” Wynonna sighed in relief.

Waverly was worried. She hated the idea of Nicole possibly being in any sort of pain, and she definitely didn’t want her to feel alone if she was. She grabbed her phone and texted Nicole as quickly as she could.

 

                                                                                                                                                                  Hey you, I’m here if you need someone to talk to.

7:12 A.M

 

Nicole never responded, but Waverly’s phone showed that Nicole had read the message. Waverly thought that Nicole probably just needed a bit of space. She dismissed it, and chose to think about the kiss they shared that night instead. Kissing Nicole was addicting for Waverly, she craved her every second since she disappeared that night. The thought of kissing Nicole again made her excited beyond words. Although, they never got to talk about it, Waverly was almost certain that she had just kissed the lips of the person she wouldn’t mind spending the rest of her life with.

An hour later, Wynonna dropped her sister off on campus. “Promise you’ll visit more often?”

“Yes mom, I promise.” Wynonna said sarcastically as she hugged her sister once more before she left. “Oh shoot, before I forget, Happy Birthday,” Wynonna said as she handed Waverly the bottle of whiskey that she got from the restaurant.

Waverly daydreamed about seeing Nicole on her way to cheerleading practice later that day. She was distracted and only paid attention to half of her classes. Waverly was so excited to spend time with Nicole after practice, that everything else going on around her seemed unimportant.

When she finally walked by she instantly noticed that something was wrong. Nicole wasn’t looking around for Waverly like she usually did. Instead, Nicole was completely focused on her stretches. Waverly waved when she noticed Nicole look up. But her stomach sunk when instead of flashing her a beautiful smile, she looked away. Waverly was confused. She wasn’t sure if Nicole didn’t see her or still needed space.

Waverly decided that she would wait for her on the bleachers after cheerleading practice, and try to cheer her up. Nicole noticed Waverly walking towards the bleachers.

 _Waverly, what are you doing to me_ , she thought. She finished the lap around the track and grabbed her bag quickly. She dashed off the field when she noticed Waverly preoccupied with her phone. Waverly showing up meant Nicole wouldn’t be able to get her off of her mind all night.

 _Yep, guess I’ll be running tonight too,_ Nicole thought as she walked back to campus.

When Waverly finally looked up, Nicole was gone. Waverly sat on the bleachers for a minute or two trying to put the pieces together.

 _Did she really just ignore me,_ she grabbed her bag and headed back towards her room.

Since Nicole disappeared at her birthday party, she had ignored Waverly completely. She avoided Waverly any way that she could, usually refusing to look at the girl when they ran into each other on campus. Any time Waverly walked past her in the track field, she’d get the cold shoulder from Nicole. Waverly was certain that something changed between them, but she just had no idea what it was.

Nicole gave Waverly a sense of home, and now Nicole was walking around like Waverly never meant anything to her. This was the closest thing to heartbreak that Waverly ever felt. Waverly couldn’t explain what was going on, because as much as she wanted to ignore Nicole too, she couldn’t. She couldn’t stop walking past her on her way to practice because seeing her still made her day better.

Waverly missed having long conversations with Nicole on the bleachers – the ones that would lead to walking her back to her room. Every time Nicole ignored Waverly, it always felt worse than the last. Waverly couldn’t accept that those eyes wouldn’t look at her the way they did again. The thought of Nicole never looking at Waverly again made her feel sick. But the thought that Nicole might hate her made her feel worse.

 _I have to at least try to fix this,_ Waverly thought.

She caught Nicole heading out of practice one day, and she ran to catch up to her. She wanted to talk to her and figure out what happened between them, but Nicole still couldn’t be around Waverly.

“Nicole!” Waverly said loudly, trying to catch her attention.

“Oh, hey,” Nicole responded coldly. 

“Can we talk for a sec?” Waverly smiled, finally catching up to her. She tried being as charming as she could.

“I’m sorry Waverly, I kinda have to go.” Nicole’s eyes were fixed on the ground, she refused to look at Waverly’s face. Waverly’s eyes were her weakness.

“Nicole, just please don’t walk away, okay? Just tell me, did I do something?” Waverly pleaded, as she grabbed her arm trying to keep her from walking away. She desperately needed Nicole to look at her, even if it was just for a second.

“Don’t you get it? I can’t just be your friend right now Earp.” Nicole’s voice cracked a bit as she said it. Nicole immediately started to walk away, she couldn’t turn around or she would’ve given into her feelings for Waverly. 

“But, I miss you,” Waverly muttered softly. Nicole didn’t hear Waverly and continued to walk away. 

Waverly couldn’t help the tears that formed inside of her eyes, she didn’t know what she did, let alone how to fix it. Waverly blinked quickly to keep the tears from falling down her face. She sat along the field’s fence for a minute and sighed. 

 _How did everything get so messed up,_ she thought to herself.

Waverly walked towards her room, she pulled out the bottle of whiskey Wynonna gave her from the sock drawer. She stared at the bottle in her hand for a while before she got in her truck and drove over to Rosita’s apartment. 

Rosita opened the door, “Hey, you!”

“Hey, am I a bad kisser?”

Rosita laughed not understanding what was going on.

“It’s just Nicole, she doesn’t like me anymore, is it cause I’m a terrible kisser?” Waverly rambled nervously.

“Oh, okay I get it now,” Rosita grabbed Waverly’s arm trying to reassure her, “I told you Nicole’s a heartbreaker, why don’t you come inside and tell me what happened.”

Waverly explained exactly what went on between the two since her birthday party.

“She’s probably back with Shae and wants nothing to do with me,” Waverly mumbled.

“She’s not with Shae, Waverly - she likes you, and anyone with eyes will tell you that.” Rosita said still trying to figure out what could’ve happened. “Look you don’t know what Nicole was like before you, but I did and your sister sure did. God those two were obnoxious, what does Wynonna say?” Rosita asked.

“Well she said that Nicole really liked me, but that was before she disappeared. Now everything’s changed.” Waverly said grabbing the bottle.

“Might want to slow down there Wave,” Rosita said noticing that Waverly had finished half of the bottle alone.

They continued talking, but they weren’t getting anywhere anymore. The more Waverly drank, the harder it was for her to put her feelings into words. Waverly giggled as she stumbled out of Rosita’s apartment. Rosita drove Waverly back to school. She tried her best to hold her up while Waverly stumbled through the hallways.

“Oh crap,” Rosita said slowly as she noticed Nicole outside her door coming back from a late night run. Nicole had headphones on and was looking for her keys. Nicole didn’t notice the two as she closed the door behind her.

Waverly changed directions and walked towards Nicole’s room. It wasn’t a good idea but she couldn’t help it, she was upset and drunk enough to get everything off of her chest.

Rosita tried to stop her friend from knocking on the door, but Waverly was set on talking to Nicole. Nicole instantly recognized Waverly’s voice that echoed through the halls. Nicole opened the door quickly, and noticed Waverly had been drinking. As a residence advisor, Nicole was technically supposed to write up students for underage drinking, but it was Waverly. She was more concerned that Waverly would attract other advisor’s attention, and she tried to get her to stop talking so loudly in the halls.

Rosita smiled at Nicole, “Will you get her to her room safe?” 

“Of course,” Nicole nodded.

Nicole pulled Waverly into her room because she didn’t want anyone else to notice her roaming the halls. Waverly smiled when Nicole held onto her waist trying to guide her to the bed.

“The things a girl has to do to get your attention,” Waverly said playfully. The two sat down on the bed.

“Wave – what happened? Geez you smell like Wynonna on New Years.” Waverly felt her body instantly sober up for a second when Nicole said ‘Wave’.

“You happened Nicole,” Waverly shrugged. “You really suck,” she mumbled as she laid her head down gently on Nicole’s lap. Nicole began running her fingers through Waverly’s hair. She smiled helplessly at Waverly.

“Me, what did I do?” Nicole responded softly.

“Nicole you freaking kissed me and made me feel all special and then you disappear, oh – and then you don’t talk to me at all. Explain that.” Waverly slurred half of her sentence.

 _I hurt her,_ Nicole thought. Nicole stopped playing with Waverly’s hair, but Waverly immediately grabbed Nicole's hand and put it back on top of her head. Nicole smiled sweetly at the girl on her lap and continued to play with her hair.

“There’s nothing to explain Wave – you’re looking for a fling, and I just can’t be that for you.” Nicole took a deep breath and mustered up enough courage to finish her thought, “Ca-Cause when I think about us, I don’t have little plans. I have huge plans about houses, and boats, and a kitten named Mittens, and if you don’t want –” Nicole paused when she heard a soft snore.

“Wave –” Nicole said softly. Waverly was fast asleep on her lap. Nicole tried to lay her head down gently on the bed, but Waverly nearly woke up every time Nicole moved too much. Trying not to wake her up, Nicole laid back against the wall uncomfortably. She grabbed a blanket that laid on her bed and pulled it over Waverly.

 _My backs gonna hate me tomorrow,_ she smiled as she fell asleep. 

When Waverly woke up the next morning, she was a little confused. Her head was throbbing, but she couldn’t help but smile when she realized that she woke up next to Nicole. Waverly noticed that Nicole fell asleep uncomfortably and she laid her down gently on the bed. She pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked towards the door. Waverly vaguely remembered knocking on Nicole’s door, but the rest was a blur. She wasn’t entirely sure if they were friends again.

 _Are we together? Or are we friends again?_ she thought as she closed the door carefully behind her. Waverly knew that they would have to talk about it at some point. 

After Nicole noticed that Waverly was gone, she realized two things. That her back was really sore, and that she couldn’t ignore Waverly anymore. She hated seeing Waverly torn up about their relationship. She decided that she had to find a way to put her romantic feelings aside, and be her friend again. Nicole rubbed her back, and she looked around the room for her pain meds. She thought for a second and remembered that she left them at Shae’s apartment.

 

Can I stop by to pick my pain meds up from your apartment?

Been feeling kinda sore lately.

9:15 A.M

 

I can bring them to you tonight, babe.

9:18 A.M

 

Shae smiled when she read the message, she missed Nicole a lot. She genuinely believed that Nicole was looking for an excuse to see her. Shae met Nicole outside of the residence hall. They talked for a minute, catching each other up on their lives; Shae had every intention of getting back together with Nicole that night. 

Waverly walked back from the library that night, and she spotted Nicole sitting on a bench with someone else. Waverly couldn’t tell who it was for a second, she leaned in to get a better view. Shae sat incredibly close to Nicole, and was all over Nicole. Suddenly Waverly felt her legs get weak.

 _She got back together with her after she kissed me, that’s probably why she’s been ignoring me,_ Waverly felt stupid for waking up next to Nicole that morning and thinking that they could actually be a couple. 

Waverly walked directly towards her room, and she slammed the door behind her. She put her hands over her head trying to make sense of everything, she was angry that she let Nicole play around with her feelings. She grabbed the present Nicole gave her from a drawer and placed it on the desk. The present stared up at her, almost patronizingly so. She never opened it because she wanted to wait for Nicole to give it to her, but Nicole ignored her for weeks.

 _If Nicole doesn’t like me, then she should have her stupid present back,_ she said angrily.

Waverly walked downstairs and placed the present outside Nicole's door. She ran away when she heard Nicole’s voice carry through the halls. Waverly hid around the corner of the hallway. She noticed that Shae was walking with Nicole and could hear their conversation distinctly.

“Anyways, here's the pills you asked for,” Shae said handing the prescription bottle to Nicole.

Nicole looked at the present sitting outside her door.

 _I thought we were friends again,_ Nicole thought as she picked it up.

“Hey what’s wrong?” Shae asked, noticing the sad look in Nicole’s eyes.

“Nothing, but I think I’m gonna go for a run again. “

“Nicole, you’re not okay. You only run when something’s really bothering you. That’s probably why you need your painkillers, you’re probably sore,” Shae rubbed Nicole’s back softly.

“I’m fine really.” Nicole did everything to avoid having _this_ converstaion Shae.

“Nicole I miss you too,” Shae said resting her hand on Nicole’s shoulder.

Nicole closed her eyes for a second. Nicole didn’t miss Shae, she missed Waverly. She missed sitting next to her after practice to talk. She missed her voice, and her smile. Nicole tried to brush off Shae’s affection, she didn’t want to hurt Shae anymore than she already had.

Shae licked her lips and touched Nicole’s face softly, “I think I can remember how to cheer you up.”

 _Don’t kiss her Nicole, please,_ Waverly thought. 

“I can’t,” Nicole said, pulling away from Shae.

“Oh – I get it, you don’t miss me," she paused for a second, "you miss _her,_ ” Shae said coldly.

“Thanks for dropping these off, I have to go.” Nicole opened her door and placed her backpack on the floor.  She grabbed a pair of headphones and headed out the building for a run.

Shae stayed for a second before she walked away, she was angry that Waverly had that kind of hold over the girl that she liked so much. “Don’t worry babe, I’ll make you forget all about that Earp,” Shae said loudly before walking away.

Waverly sat for a minute. She was very confused about what happened. She tried to piece it together in her mind. _If Nicole missed me, why did she push me away_. She thought about how the present got upstairs if Nicole disappeared after their kiss. _Nicole isn’t with Shae_. She replayed the whole situation in her mind over and over. Suddenly, there was a brief moment of clarity.

 _She must’ve heard me talking to Wynonna,_ Waverly felt her heart break for real this time. Knowing that she had caused Nicole this much pain made her angry at herself. Oh no, _how am I going to fix this,_ Waverly thought as she headed upstairs to her room.

 

Ideally Family Day at school was supposed to be fun. It was a day where parents could visit their kids and see what a typical college day looks like. Nicole always gave her parents the wrong date to keep them from showing up. She found that family visits were best when she could be with her parents in a controlled environment. Nicole had gone weeks ignoring her mother’s calls. Nicole would text her occasionally to let her know that she was okay, while ignoring her enough so that she didn’t have to talk to her about the breakup with Shae.

All of the athletic teams and clubs on campus were required to set up table in an event room. Parents could learn more about the activities offered by the school from the students. Nicole woke up early the next day to set up the teams table. She definitely didn’t expect to run into Waverly that morning.

The cheerleading team was in charge of welcoming and checking parents into the event; Waverly was in charge of setting up the cheerleading table.

Things were a bit awkward between the two. They both had no idea where they stood. So many miscommunications created unnecessary tension between the two girls.

“Hi, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Nicole said trying to make small talk.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Waverly responded. She was sure that Nicole hated her.

“Oh, I didn’t mean –” Nicole played with her fingers. Nicole looked down, sad that this had all turned out so badly.

Waverly finished setting up her table and smiled when Rosita walked into the event room with an extra coffee. Rosita was Waverly’s closest friend, she had always been there for her since the first night they met. Something about the way Rosita looked at Waverly made Nicole insanely jealous. She hated the thought that Waverly could fall in love with Rosita, but not with her.

Rosita walked towards Nicole. “You’re an idiot Haught, to let that girl go, at least. She was all over you, emphasis on the was.” Rosita wasn’t trying to be mean; she was just mad that her friend had been heartbroken over the last couple of weeks. Before Nicole could respond she noticed that parents began filing in.

Nicole’s felt her hands go numb when she watched her mom walk through the doors. She noticed Waverly in the main table checking parents in for family day. Nicole panicked and grabbed her phone to text Waverly as fast as she could. She walked fast towards the supply closet in the back of the room. 

Waverly looked down at her phone when it vibrated underneath her hand. _Nicole?_ she thought. She took a second before she opened her phone to see the message. She was a little nervous to read it.

 

                                                                                                                                                Wave, supply closet in the back of the room. Hurry.

11:02 A.M

 

Waverly turned around to figure out what supply closet Nicole was talking about. She was confused. Nicole ignored her for a couple of weeks, and now she wanted to see her in the supply closet. Before she could walk over, a woman in front of her smiled kindly.

“Hi, I wanna check in.”

 _She’s so pretty,_ Waverly thought briefly.

Waverly watched as Shae walked up to the woman, and smiled as she hugged her.

“Hi, there stranger,” Shae said sweetly.

“Shae honey, it’s so nice to see you. Have you seen my daughter? I swear she might have my looks, but she makes irrational decisions like her father. I’ll figure this breakup out, don’t you worry.”

Shae smiled, “No I haven’t seen Nicole anywhere. Have you seen her _Waverly_ ,” Shae directed her attention towards the cheerleader.

“I haven’t.” Waverly said quickly, she wasn’t sure why the question made her so nervous.

“So this is the Earp girl you said my daughter is so fond of.” Waverly felt extremely judged for a second. Nicole’s mom stared at Waverly intensely before turning her attention back to Shae.

Waverly used the opportunity to sneak away. She walked quickly towards the supply closet. Nicole looked relieved when she saw Waverly walk in. 

“Boy am I glad to see you, did you run into anyone that kinda looks like, I don’t know, an older-meaner-me, out there?” Nicole moved her hands as she talked. She was obviously flustered.

“Uh, you mean your mom?” Waverly responded. 

“Yeahhh,” Nicole said innocently.

“Nicole what’s going on?”

“Okay so, my mom might sorta think that I left Shae to be with you,” Nicole said it quickly hoping that she wouldn’t have to explain it.

“She what?” Waverly said slightly intrigued.

Nicole peeked out the door and accidentally made eye contact with her mom. “Listen Wave – I’d really really like to explain but I’m trying to avoid my mom, so come with me and we can talk.” Nicole shut the door and looked for another way out.

The supply closet had a small window at the top. It was big enough to climb out of. Nicole fidgeted with the lock on the window.

“Are you serious?” Waverly said staring up at Nicole.

Nicole popped the window open. It was a small drop to the ground. “You coming, Wave?”

Someone knocked on the door. “Nicole, I know you’re in there,” Nicole recognized her mom’s voice. 

“I got to go, and I’d really like you to come with me,” Nicole smiled brightly at Waverly. Waverly looked at Nicole, she never thought she’d see the girl smiling at her like that again.

 _Who am I kidding, I’d go anywhere with you,_ Waverly thought.

Waverly walked towards the window. Nicole jumped out first and helped Waverly out. They snuck around the back of the building and walked towards the track field. They sat underneath the bleachers.

“So are you going to tell me what’s been going on with you these last few weeks?” Waverly asked. Nicole was silent for a second. “Come on Nicole, use your words,” all Waverly tried to do for the last couple of weeks was get Nicole to talk to her.

“I overheard part of the conversation you had with Wynonna, and it made me feel – well awful.”

“For a long time I didn’t just want to be your friend Wave. So I ignored you hoping that it would go away. But I’m ready to be friends again cause I miss you all the time -- and coach keeps yelling at me for running too much.” Nicole knew part of her was lying, but she couldn’t stay away from Waverly if she tried. She pushed it aside thinking that she’d figure out the details later.

 _Just friends,_ Waverly thought.

“Then, friends it is” Waverly said politely. She couldn’t help but hate the way their conversation played out. All she wanted to do was kiss Nicole and tell her that she didn’t want to be friends and that if she would have stuck around long enough she would have heard her tell Wynonna that she more than liked her.

“Actually no—” Waverly felt a wave of insecurity run through her body as soon as she began speaking. She was afraid to admit her feelings for Nicole. 

“Wave, what is it,” Nicole grabbed her hand softly, trying to reassure her. 

Nicole’s phone began ringing loudly underneath the bleachers.

"Hold that thought," Nicole silenced her phone, but heard a familiar voice.

“Honey, you can’t be anymore predictable, just like your father,” Nicole’s mom approached them. Nicole mouthed ‘stay’ to Waverly. And she came out from under the bleachers so that her mom wouldn’t notice Waverly.

“Mom. You found me.” Nicole said playfully.

“Yeah, I did. Come here, I’ve missed you.” Nicole’s mom embraced her warmly.

“Have you been eating? We should get some food in you, and then we can talk about Shae.” Nicole’s mom didn’t notice Waverly underneath the bleachers.

Nicole looked back at her and smiled. Waverly’s phone screen lit up seconds later.

 

I’m going to need a drink or two after this. Your place or mine?

11:52 A.M

 

Waverly was glad that they were friends again, but wasn’t sure how long she could pretend to just be friends with Nicole. It was a start though. It was the first time in weeks that Waverly felt a complete sense of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And cue the flirty WayHaught again.  
> Also, I wrote part of a WayHaught haunted house friend-date thing cause like October, right? I might finish it, if it's something that you guys would want to read. As always, thanks so much for even taking the time to read these things. You guys are always so incredibly lovely in the comments, and I love every single one of you. <3


	9. Cool Shirt.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> haunted house, a blast from the past, and possible kisses?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi cuties, I had so much fun writing this. There might not be an update for a while so enjoy this chapter more so than you usually would <3

Nicole’s mom always looked out for, what she felt were, her daughter’s best interests. Any time Nicole brought new people into her life, her mother would take the time to learn absolutely everything about them before actually meeting them. Nicole hated it, but that didn’t stop her mom from continuing to do it – it was worse for the people that Nicole actually dated. Her mom was very active in Nicole’s life, she tried to control as much of it as she could.

Nicole’s mom handed her daughter the keys to the car, she walked over and got into the passenger seat. As Nicole drove, she tried turning the radio on – loud enough to avoid talking to her mom. Her mother lowered the volume and turned her head to face her daughter. Nicole tried making small talk while she desperately looked around for a nearby restaurant to have lunch at.

“Honey, we’re going to have to talk about it sometime. Might as well rip the band-aid off now.” 

“No, mom we don’t, it just didn’t work out. And I really don’t want to talk about it,” Nicole answered defensively. She pulled over to the nearest restaurant she could find. 

“But can't you at least try to fix –”

Nicole interrupted, not wanting to hear anything else about the subject. “Oh darn, looks like we’re here,” she said as she smiled politely at her mom. Her mom rolled her eyes, she hated Nicole’s inability to talk about her feelings. 

They walked into the restaurant and were seated in a table outside. Nicole’s mom was still set on talking about her daughter’s breakup with Shae, but Nicole evaded the subject. Nicole moved the food around on her plate, trying her best to get through lunch. Nicole’s mom tried to approach the topic from a different direction.

“Well, I met the famous Waverly today.” Nicole’s eyes finally looked up from her plate.

“Oh, so _she_ gets your attention huh,” her mother teased.

“Waverly’s just a friend. I-I don’t know what Shae told you, but Waverly just wants to be friends.” Nicole stammered as she tried to brush the topic off. She didn’t want to talk about Waverly – and certainly not to her mother. Nicole tried to keep the words from fumbling out of her mouth, but she was obviously still bitter about the way her relationship with Waverly played out. “Plus, even if I wanted to be more, she made it crystal clear that she just wants to be friends.” Her mom was a little surprised that Nicole was rambling nervously. She’d never seen her daughter get this fluttered over a girl. Nicole’s mom noticed that she was hurt that Waverly didn’t return her affections.

She grabbed Nicole’s face and said, “You have my looks baby – you really think anyone wants to be ‘just friends’ with us.” Her mom’s words elicited a small smile from Nicole’s face.

Nicole looked away briefly; it was clear that she still wasn’t fully over her feelings for Waverly.

_She could never fall in love with me,_ she thought. She pushed her plate forward, she didn’t have much of an appetite anymore.

“Look don’t worry about her, you have a great girl that’s crazy about you Nicole. Shae’s a really nice girl, and I really like her.”

Nicole got up from the table and started to walk away. Her mom grabbed money from her wallet and left more than enough to cover the bill.

“Nicole, slow down,” her mom said trying to catch up to her daughter. Nicole started the car and waited for her mom to get in. She tapped on steering wheel, trying her best to keep calm.

When her mom got in the car, she picked up where they left off, “Mom, if you like her so much why don’t you marry her.”

“Oh Nicole, don’t be ridiculous. Why can’t you just accept that I’m trying to look out for you. Remember when you started hanging around that Wynonna girl, remember how I read into her family history and found out about her family curse.” Nicole vaguely remembered it, her mom held her daughters hand softly. “See you would’ve never known that, if I hadn’t looked into her. It sure didn’t stop you from hanging out with her, but at least you knew what you were getting yourself into.” 

“You can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with. And trust me, Waverly and I will only ever be friends, so just drop it – please.”

“Fine, you're right. I'm sorry, I should know by now that you'd never bring home an Earp,” Nicole looked at her mom, unsure of whether she should tell her the truth about how she felt. Instead Nicole stayed silent and bit her tongue to keep from speaking up. She pulled into an empty lot on campus.

“And with that said, I’m leaving now,” Nicole said as she forced a smile and hugged her mom goodbye.

“Oh, before I forget. Your dad sent you this.” Nicole’s mom reached into her purse to retrieve a letter. She handed it to her daughter who was opening the door for her mom.

Nicole smiled brightly, hearing from her dad always made her feel better.

“You know, since the day you were born, I feel like you and your father have teamed up against me. I wish you’d stop looking at me like the villain sometimes.”

“Love you mom, bye.” Nicole answered as she waved and walked away.

She opened the letter immediately and read it as she walked back towards her room.

_Nicole— I’m told you’re in a bit of trouble with Shae. I really liked the girl, but if I’m being honest I don’t think that she’s the one. Shae told me that you were infatuated with a new girl on campus. I say, if you like her that much then you gotta go for it kid. Take her on a date and show her the Haught family charm. First dates on me. Also, if your mom asks – I’m so very disappointed, ashamed, etc. I love you._

Nicole’s dad attached a blank signed check to the letter with a paperclip. Nicole didn’t plan on using it, but appreciated the gesture. She smiled and held the letter close to her chest. Nicole grabbed a bottle of tequila from the fridge and headed directly towards Waverly’s room. They agreed to meet later in Nicole’s room, but she just couldn’t wait to see her.

Rosita ran into Waverly on campus, the two talked briefly before agreeing to hang out in Waverly’s room for a bit.  Waverly shared exactly what happened with Nicole, and Rosita was more confused than before.

“So you guys are _just_ friends?” she asked trying to figure out the full story.

“Unfortunately,” Waverly responded.

“You guys are so freaking–” Rosita stopped when she heard knocking on Waverly’s door.

“Wave, it’s me. And I so need a drink,” Nicole said loudly.

Waverly’s face lit up instantly when she recognized the voice. “So I guess that’s my cue,” Rosita said grabbing her jacket and heading towards the door.

Rosita opened the door and half-smiled at Nicole while she walked out of the room.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” Nicole said a little embarrassed that she had interrupted.  

Waverly smiled at Nicole, and pulled her into the room. “So your mom is very –”

“Controlling and annoying, I know,” Nicole said taking a drink out of a tequila bottle.

“I was going to say pretty,” Waverly said, laughing lightly.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t say that if you ever had a conversation with her. Thank god, you’ll never need to,” Nicole paused before continuing, “but any one of my exes can tell you all about that.”

Waverly was slightly offended by Nicole’s comment. “Right. Cause we’re just friends?”

“Exactly,” Nicole said as she pointed at Waverly. Nicole was relieved that Waverly would never be judged harshly by her mom.

_Great,_ Waverly thought. She took a deep breath before she changed the topic.

 

The weeks flew by after their talk underneath the bleachers. Nicole and Waverly couldn’t seem to spend enough time together. Though Nicole would never admit it, she couldn’t help but continue to fall more in love with Waverly. The two were head over heals for one another but neither of them was willing to make the first move. The time they spent never seemed like enough, and Waverly found herself going out of her way to spend more time with Nicole.

As they sat on top of the bleachers after practice, Nicole briefly mentioned something about having to cover the residence hall front desk that night. She talked about how much she hated the night shift while Waverly teased her about it. While Waverly was in bed that night, she twisted and turned thinking about Nicole being alone downstairs. She grabbed a blanket and book off of her desk and walked downstairs. She smiled when she noticed Nicole dancing along to the music she was listening to. Nicole stopped when she realized Waverly was in front of her, she took off her headphones and said “Wave,” softly.

“Mind if I keep you company?” Waverly pointed at the chair next to Nicole.

Nicole opened the door that connected to the front desk and pulled the chair out for Waverly to sit down. They didn’t talk much that night, but it was nice. Nicole worked on unfinished homework assignments, while occasionally looking up to see Waverly completely lost in the book she was reading.

_Little things like this make it impossible to just be your friend Waverly,_ Nicole thought as she chewed on the back end of her pen.

Since that night, Waverly made it a habit to pop in when she noticed Nicole sitting at the front desk. She would usually sit on top of the counter while Nicole rambled about classes or track practice. Every once and a while, Nicole would help out residents – it was then that Waverly noticed just how charming Nicole actually was with every girl she met. It was frustrating that Nicole had no problem talking to other girls, girls that weren’t her. Waverly understood then what Wynonna meant when she said that girls were always draped around Nicole.

_Why does she pretend there isn’t something special happening here,_ Waverly thought to herself as she watched Nicole innocently flirt with other girls.

Nicole tried to establish a bit distance between the two – at least at first. But that was difficult to do when Waverly looked for quite the opposite. Waverly looked for any excuse to play with Nicole’s hands, something about the way Nicole got flustered when she touched her, made doing it almost addicting for her.

At this point they spent most of their time together; Nicole definitely never spent this much time with a friend before. She tried to rationalize it in her mind, but there was no reasonable excuse she could find. Waverly had no complaints, she loved every second of attention Nicole gave her.

While they studied in a room at the library one night, Waverly watched as Nicole looked incredibly confused by the book she was reading. _How adorable,_ she thought as she smiled and stared at Nicole struggle for a second.

Nicole put the book down on the table, and threw her hands up in the air, “It’s official, I hate history,”

Waverly had already taken the class online and began trying to explain to Nicole what was going on, “No you don’t, here – just think about it as a giant storybook.”

Nicole stared at the girl in front of her helplessly.

_God, I hope she doesn’t ask me questions,_ Nicole was too distracted by Waverly to pay attention to anything she was saying. Hearing Waverly explain it to her and get excited about certain parts, made history her new favorite subject. Waverly looked down at her watch, “It’s getting late, I should go,” Waverly said closing the notebook in front of her.

She paused for a second, while she tried to phrase her next words carefully, “Hey Nicole, would you be up for a small road trip this weekend to a haunted house?”

Nicole absolutely hated haunted houses. She was terrified at the simple thought of a one. All of her life nobody was able to convince her to go inside of one. Nicole stared back at Waverly for a second, thinking about what to reply.

“Wait, you like haunted houses right?” Waverly asked, struggling to read Nicole’s face.

“Love ‘em,” Nicole answered smiling back at Waverly.

Waverly instantly noticed that Nicole wasn’t particularly excited. She didn’t take Nicole as someone that scared easily, and especially not someone who was scared of haunted houses. She tried to get Nicole more excited about going, “Rumor has it that the place is actually haunted.”

Nicole felt her heart drop for a second. “Ohh how coool,” Nicole responded.

“So is that a yes?” Waverly smiled.

“Mhmm,” Nicole struggled to get an actual word out.

“Friday night. It’s a date!” Waverly said as she gathered her books into her backpack.

Nicole blushed at the thought of a date with Waverly. She watched as the pretty girl walked away. Once she was gone the idea of going to a haunted house set in.

_A **real** haunted house, awesome. _ Nicole felt a knot in her stomach, she would do anything for Waverly – even if it meant going to a haunted house.

A couple of minutes after she left, Nicole noticed that Waverly left one of her books behind. She grabbed it and put it in her bag. Nicole stopped to grab a cup of coffee before she walked back towards Waverly’s room; she still had a lot of homework to do. She tried calling Waverly on her way back, but she didn’t answer. She tried calling her again while she was going up the stairs to her room, but her phone went straight to voicemail. Once she was outside of Waverly’s door, she knocked lightly afraid to wake her up if she was already sleeping.

Waverly was half-asleep in her favorite shirt. She wore Nicole’s band tee, the one she borrowed from her the night of her birthday party, as often as she could. She loved going to sleep in it, something about wearing it made her feel like Nicole was there somehow. Waverly woke up when she heard light knocking. She opened the door as Nicole was walking away.

“Oh I didn’t mean to wake you –” Nicole stopped mid sentence and her smile grew significantly as she at the girl in front of her.

“Cool shirt,” Nicole raised an eyebrow at Waverly.

It took a second for Nicole’s comments to register in Waverly’s mind. She wasn’t sure if she liked the smug look on Nicole’s face.

“It a hundred percent looks better on you,” she continued charmingly.

“I’m not so sure I agree,” Waverly responded, pausing to think about what Nicole would look like in the shirt.

“Well then, I guess we can agree to disagree.” Nicole said as she pulled the book out of her bag. “Oh, I think this belongs to you,” she said as she handed the book to Waverly. They locked eyes as they both held onto the book between them. Someone slammed their door a couple of rooms down and they jumped back; enough to get them back to reality.

“Um thanks – for bringing this to me,” Waverly continued.

“Anytime, goodnight Wave,” Nicole smiled again flashing her infamous dimples at Waverly. Waverly couldn’t help but move a little closer to Nicole and wrap her arms around her waist, hugging her tightly.

“Goodnight, Nicole,” she said softly before returning to her room.

As Nicole went down the stairs, her steps seemed lighter somehow.

_She was wearing my shirt;_ Nicole couldn’t get the smile off of her face. She stopped herself from making too much of the situation because last time that she got this excited about Waverly Earp she ended up with a sore limbs and a bruised ego. Still, Nicole couldn’t help but feel happy.

 

Nicole packed the car for the short road trip Friday morning. She waited for Waverly outside her door, and helped her carry her bag inside the car. Waverly was really excited about the haunted house. But she noticed that Nicole was a little jumpier than usual. Nicole remembered how Waverly got cold easily and grabbed an extra jacket, just in case. She wanted everything to be perfect. 

_You’re just friends with her,_ Nicole reminded herself. Nicole knew not to get her hopes up, yet here she was, ready to jump at Waverly’s command.

Waverly sang along to the playlist she made for the road trip. Nicole smiled at the girl next to her, realizing that it would always be impossible to just be friends with her. Nicole’s phone rang on the drive over, it was her dad. Nicole put him on speaker in order to focus on driving.

"Hi dad," Nicole said sweetly.

“Nic, honey. How’re things going with that new girl you like so much?” her dad asked enthusiastically.

“Yeah I’m gonna need to call you back, dad, super awful service right now,” Nicole said as she hung up the phone. She turned to face Waverly who looked extremely content with herself.

“Cool shirt?” Waverly responded, with the same smug look on her face that Nicole had when she caught Waverly wearing her shirt.

Nicole laughed at Waverly’s witty response, she turned the music back on, and they enjoyed the rest of the trip.

They arrived just as the sun was setting. Nicole liked that it wasn’t just a haunted house. It was more of an October festival featuring a terrifying haunted house. There was food, games, small rides, and activities. Nicole bought tickets for the haunted house, she still didn’t understand how all of this even happened.

As she stared at the two tickets in her hand she thought _, why do people even like this_.

"Goodness, I love this," Waverly said sneaking up behind Nicole. "Woah, look at those huge stuffed animal gorillas," Waverly said staring at the prizes for the games. Nicole smiled down at Waverly. 

_Of course you love this,_ Nicole thought.

The walked around the festival for a bit, and got on a couple of rides before they got in line for the haunted house. As they waited in line, Nicole watched Waverly struggle to keep warm. Waverly had a coat on, but she still couldn’t help but shiver when a strong breeze cut through the air. Nicole took off her jacket and pulled it over Waverly. She smiled at the small girl in front of her.

“Well that’s not fair, now you’ll be cold.” Waverly said staring up at Nicole.

“I’ll be fine,” she responded, glad that Waverly wasn’t shivering anymore.

“No, you won’t” Waverly protested as she got closer to Nicole. Waverly wrapped her arms tightly around Nicole trying her absolute best to keep the taller girl warm.

“Wave – I don’t think you’re trying to keep me warm, I’m thinking you’re just still cold,” Nicole teased, noticing how cold Waverly’s body still was.

“Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to hug you,” said softly. Nicole stared down at Waverly for a second. But before Nicole could respond, a group of teenagers standing in line behind them interrupted.

“Okay, you guys are the cutest couple we’ve ever seen,” a girl said, while the rest of her friends nodded.

Nicole and Waverly simultaneously responded. “Oh we’re not –” Nicole said as Waverly interjected with a louder “Thanks, I think so too.” Waverly continued to hug Nicole throughout the interaction. Her head was pressed up to Nicole’s chest and she noticed that Nicole’s heartbeat quickened when Waverly said that they were together.

_Just tell me you like me, it’s not that hard,_ she thought.

Nicole didn’t fully understand why Waverly responded that way, it blurred the lines of their relationship. Every damn line always seemed to be blurred with the two. Before they could talk about it a man in a terrifying mask gave them basic instructions about the haunted house. The haunted house was located a short distance from the waiting line. It required them to take a small hay ride on the back of a pickup truck to get to the isolated house.

Waverly held Nicole’s hand while they got on the pickup truck. She noticed that Nicole’s disposition completely changed as they sat on the hay bales in the back of the truck. She thought it was strange that Nicole was looking around everywhere, almost paranoid-like. She tried to make small talk on the ride there but Nicole was completely frozen. She physically couldn’t respond.

_Oh my god, oh my god, I am so fucking scared_. _This is why pretty girls are dangerous; they make you do stuff like this,_ Nicole thought.

“Are you scared?” Waverly teased. She expected Nicole to say no, and was surprised when Nicole didn’t reply at all.

“Oh my god, you’re scared.” Waverly said again, this time sympathetically.

“I’m terrified,” Nicole responded holding onto Waverly’s hand a little bit tighter.

The truck came to a halt and the two were signaled to get off of the truck. Waverly felt really bad; she didn’t like seeing the Nicole so afraid.

The entrance was narrow and Nicole walked behind Waverly. Waverly rubbed Nicole’s hand gently, trying to help her relax. It helped, until a loud noise made Nicole jump. It was a maze haunted house. Waverly knew that she had to get them out of there as quickly as possible. She tried to memorize everything to try to keep them from going in a circle. They heard other people inside of the haunted house screaming.

Waverly placed Nicole’s hands around her waist, “Hey, just close your eyes, I’ll get you through it.”

Nicole obeyed, she held on tightly to the small girl in front of her. Nicole tucked her head into Waverly’s neck. As much as Waverly tried to focus, she couldn’t help but get a completely different kind of rush from Nicole breathing lightly on her neck.

_Stop it Earp, don’t be inappropriate right now,_ Waverly thought to herself.

She noticed that every time there was a loud bang or someone would jump out of a corner, Nicole would involuntarily gasp and jump a little.

_God you are so incredibly cute,_ Waverly thought as she continued trying to find a way out of the maze. Waverly loved puzzles, and the fact that people kept jumping out around every corner didn’t distract her, as much as having Nicole hold her so tight did. Nicole flustered her thoughts, and it’s why it took her a little longer to find the way out, than it would have had she been in there alone. After minutes of having the taller girl behind her whisper _I hate this_ into Waverly’s ear, Waverly found a way out. Nicole smiled when she saw the end. She let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry Wave, I guess I kinda owe you one,” Nicole said shyly.

“Oh don’t worry I’m sure that I’ll think of someway you can repay me,” purposely staring directly at Nicole’s lips. Nicole smiled at her and considered kissing her.

Before she could decide, a man with a chainsaw came up from behind them, and Nicole screamed ‘ahh’ while Waverly looked over to scold the man that scared Nicole. They walked over to the hay ride that took them back to the festival. Nicole jumped on first and helped Waverly up onto the truck. Waverly played with a ring on Nicole’s index finger, using it as an excuse to ultimately hold her hand. Neither of them talked about it, instead they actively choose not to think that their behavior was perhaps a little more than friendly. 

When they returned to the festival, Nicole asked Waverly if she could get her something to eat. Waverly nodded and Nicole headed over to a food stand. She noticed a handsome guy in front of her checking her out.

“Can I get you a drink?” he asked flirtatiously.

“No I’m fine, thanks though,” she said kindly.

“Come on, a handsome guy like me and a hot girl like you, oh baby the stories we could write,” he was oddly charming.

“Okay, but you should know – you’re not really my type,” Nicole responded politely, accepting his offer.

Waverly looked over to see what was taking Nicole so long. Her jaw dropped when she noticed her laughing in line with a someone she instantly recognized. Champ Hardy, her ex-boyfriend, was flirting with Nicole. Her stomach felt sick. She was recklessly jealous.

_Why is he talking to **Nicole** , _Waverly paused to think about how irrational her jealousy actually was.

Waverly laid her head down on the table for a second and waited for Nicole to come back.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Nicole said.

Waverly picked her head up, “Was he hitting on you?” she asked angrily.

Nicole paused and thought that jealousy in the purest form looked extremely attractive on Waverly. She smiled and put a plate of nachos in front of her.

“He just wanted to buy me a drink is all,” she responded.

“He’s not even your type,” Waverly answered back quickly.

“And you know my type?” Nicole said as she stared back at Waverly, she couldn’t hold back the growing smile if she tried.

_Yeah, me_ , Waverly thought.

“No, no, I just – I know him okay?” Waverly said trying to play it cool.

Nicole’s smile faded, “You do?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s kinda my ex-boyfriend.”

_Guess we have the same tastes,_ Waverly thought bitterly.

“Oh I see, so you still like him?” Nicole asked afraid to hear the answer.

“God, no. But I hate that he hit on–” Waverly paused to pick her next words wisely. “H-he just always hit on all my friends while we were together,” Waverly explained. She couldn’t tell Nicole that it drove her insane anytime someone tried to hit on her.

Nicole smiled gently, “Hey – well don’t let it bother you too much, you’re right he’s not my type.”

Champ noticed Waverly and walked over to their table. He put his drink down loudly in front of Waverly.

“What a shame, you sure missed this boat Waverly,” Champ tone showed that he was obviously still not over Waverly. Nicole didn’t blame him. He had Waverly and he let her slip away. “Now, I’m about to woo this red headed cutie,” he said turning to stare at Nicole.

“Champ, you’re drunk,” Waverly responded trying not to engage.

“Guess you couldn’t find anyone better than me, I told you that nobody else would want you,” he mocked Waverly.

Waverly look away, embarrassed that she was even having this conversation. Waverly stayed quiet, a part of her felt like Champ was right. Nicole watched as Waverly’s face changed, she hated seeing Waverly this upset.

“Actually she did find someone,” Nicole told Champ.

“Well where are they?” he laughed while he pretended to look around.

“Right in front of you, I’m her girlfriend.” Nicole said boldly. “And judging by what I see, I’m obviously an upgrade,” Nicole continued, trying to defend Waverly.

Waverly stood behind her smiling. She knew it wasn’t real, but she couldn’t help but enjoy every second of the moment.

Champ was silent for a minute; he didn’t know how to respond. “You’re lying – you guys can’t be together,” he looked over at Waverly and winked, “I know exactly what Waverly likes.”

Something about the statement made Nicole incredibly angry. “Well I don’t think you know her that well then,” Nicole said remembering the kiss they shared at the birthday party.

Waverly smiled and grabbed Nicole’s hands, and looked at her nervously. She ran her thumbs along Nicole’s hands.

_Kiss me Nicole,_ Waverly thought.

Nicole pulled Waverly in closer with one hand. She stared into Waverly’s eyes looking for a sign that it was okay to kiss her. Waverly nodded slightly. Both of their pulses quickened as Nicole kissed her softly. Their kiss was different, it was slow-paced and gentle. Waverly smiled in between small kisses. She ran her fingers though her ‘girlfriends’ hair, and it felt absolutely right.

Champ threw his beer can on the ground on stepped on it crushing it underneath his foot. He walked away furiously.

Nicole and Waverly didn’t immediately notice that he left and continued kissing for a little while longer. Nicole whispered, “I think he’s gone,” softly into Waverly’s ear.

Waverly pulled Nicole back in and continued kissing her, she didn’t want the moment to end. “Is he?” she responded playfully still holding onto the back of her neck. Nicole smiled before she pulled away completely.

“So, I guess that makes us even then?” Nicole asked, running a hand across her hair trying to regain her composure. “You helped me out in the haunted house, and I helped you out with that nightmare of an ex.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Waverly smiled, rubbing her lipstick off of Nicole’s lips. “God, I forgot you were such a good kisser,” Waverly froze for a second, she didn’t mean to say it out loud, but the words were already out there. She looked at Nicole trying to determine if she had freaked her out.

“Yeah?” Nicole asked in a cool tone, wanting to hear Waverly say it again. The smug look on her face returned.

“Ya know, that ego of yours doesn’t need to be inflated more,” Waverly shot back.

“No?” Nicole said as she placed her hands around Waverly’s waist. Waverly fell apart, as she stared helplessly at Nicole. Her eyes couldn't focus on anything other than her lips. Waverly was speechless, she couldn’t do anything, but hope that Nicole kissed her again.

Nicole caressed the side of Waverly’s face. She got closer to Waverly and could hear her breathing speed up.

“You're right,” Nicole whispered into Waverly’s ear. Nicole licked her lips and walked away, while Waverly watched her.

Nicole turned around playfully, “You coming Wave? I got my eyes set on winning a giant stuffed gorilla in the ring toss.” _Such freaking a tease,_ Waverly whispered as she followed Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I might be taking a brief break from writing this fic. I just have so much stuff planned over the next couple of weeks that I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to sit down and actually work on this. I promise the slowburn is almost over. I will try my absolute best to write the next update as soon as I can.
> 
> Side note: you guys have just been so incredibly sweet, and I love every single one of you to bits. I enjoy reading your comments/messages on Tumblr so much; I promise that they really do warm my heart <3 Virtual hugs to all of you, and I hope something out there makes you smile today :)


	10. We Shouldn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WayHaught get closer and not everyone is on board with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi pretty people, thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoy reading this update <3

Waverly watched Nicole walk away from her, she bit the tip of her index finger, unable to stop herself from staring. Nicole turned around, she loved that Waverly’s eyes were glued to her. Nicole was naturally flirty, her movements were always precise and calculated – intended to capture the attention of the girls that she liked. As they walked towards the game section at the October festival, Nicole brushed her hand against that back of Waverly’s hand, she kept there fully knowing that Waverly would eventually hold onto it. Still she was surprised when Waverly finally did.

Waverly stopped for moment, she positioned herself in front of Nicole and held onto both of her hands. Waverly thought carefully about what she was about to say, “Wait, so are you like my –?” Waverly coughed lightly because the words that followed choked her up. “My umm,” she continued struggling to get the words out.

Nicole noticed that Waverly was really nervous. She interrupted her, “Tonight – I am anything you want me to be.” She took a step closer towards Waverly and squeezed her hand gently to reassure her that everything would be fine.

Waverly nodded and took a deep breath, “Well in that case,” Waverly looked down at the floor again before looking back up at Nicole, “just for tonight.” She closed her eyes before she continued, “Nicole will you be my girlfriend?” Waverly smiled eagerly awaiting Nicole’s response. There was complete silence for a second, and she let go of Nicole’s hand preparing to be rejected.

Nicole leaned in and kissed Waverly on the cheek lightly. Waverly’s proposal threw her off, but she loved the idea of being Waverly’s anything – so long as she was Waverly’s.

_Girlfriend, she said girlfriend, right?_ Nicole felt happiness in its purest form.

“Y-Yeah, I’d love to, uh I mean like to, be your girlfriend for the night,” Nicole responded softly, pausing to stare at her girlfriend.

_I have the prettiest girlfriend, at least for one night,_ Waverly thought. She wanted to scream it out loud, just to make sure it was real. Instead she looked down at her watch, it was 11:32.

“So that gives us about 8 hours till the sun comes up,” Waverly said to Nicole as she intertwined their fingers together and leaned into her arm.

Nicole kissed her girlfriend-for-the-night’s forehead lightly. She let go of Waverly’s hand when they approached the ring toss game stand. Waverly's attention was divided between seeing Nicole play, and a different game across from them.

It was a pellet gun game, Waverly simply had to pierce a hole through the center of a paper target to win. She had a fairly accurate shot, growing up she was taught to shoot guns, and she was confident in her abilities. Nicole stood back while she watched her girlfriend attempt the game. Waverly didn’t have a bad shot, but the targets moved around in a circle quickly. Waverly was getting frustrated, and Nicole laughed lightly.

_How is she this cute, even when she’s angry,_ Nicole thought.

“Oh like you could do better,” Waverly teased looking back at Nicole.

Nicole laughed a bit. She stood closely behind Waverly and held onto her hand guiding the gun; Nicole aimed it at the paper targets. “You’re adorable,” she whispered into Waverly’s ear, before firing a single shot that that pierced a hole through the center of two moving targets. The man operating the stand was genuinely impressed.

Waverly gave the pellet gun back to the man, and turned around to face her girlfriend, slightly amazed that Nicole really just did that. Nicole bit her bottom lip slightly and the smug face Waverly ‘hated’ made a triumphant return.

“Gosh, you think you’re so cool, don’t you?” Waverly said, her eyes narrowed as she continued teasing her, “Nicole, you are not that cool.”

Nicole laughed, she noticed that Waverly’s voice seemed to change when she lied about something, “I'd bet that you still want to kiss me though,” Nicole responded. She threw the giant plush that they won from the game over her shoulder and reached out for Waverly’s hand. Their relationship was a continuous battle of control. They both had the need to constantly one up one another, and right now Nicole was winning because all Waverly wanted to do was kiss the smug look right off of her face.

They walked back to the car and Waverly put a seatbelt on the plush in the backseat. They drove back to Nicole’s loft, and Nicole smiled when she noticed Waverly cradled against the window sleeping. They arrived a couple of hours before sunrise. Nicole realized that Waverly was in a deep sleep, and she decided to carry Waverly into the loft. Nicole remembered that Waverly was a light sleeper, so she would stop moving every time she felt Waverly beginning to wake up. She laid Waverly down gently on the bed and grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the closet so she could sleep on the couch. As she was walking away, her phone vibrated loudly on the dresser.

“No, no, shit.” Nicole whispered running over to silence it. It was Nicole’s mom calling, again.

Waverly lifted her head from the pillows. She yawned as she noticed a pillow and blanket in Nicole’s arms.

“Where are you going?” Waverly asked half drowsy.

“Downstairs, to make a bed on the couch,” Nicole answered. “You’re very cute when you’re asleep,” Nicole said setting the pillow and blanket down on the floor.

“Then why didn’t you just lay down with me?” Waverly asked curiously

“Oh, I didn’t know that you would – would be okay with that,” Nicole responded.

_Of course I would, I like you so much,_ Waverly thought.

“Just sit with me for a bit, I’m not gong back to bed anyways,” she said sitting up.

They sat on Nicole’s bed and laughed for what seemed hours. Waverly teased Nicole about the haunted house.

“Hey, haunted houses are scary, come on - I’m sure you’re scared of something.” Nicole said trying to defend herself.

Waverly stared at Nicole, _I'm scared of you_ , Waverly thought.

“No, I am wayyy too cool to be afraid,” Waverly teased. Nicole used Waverly’s response to change the topic and lightly teased Waverly about the ‘cool shirt’ she caught her wearing earlier that week.

“Relax, the shirt is just comfortable, it has nothing to do with you,” Waverly said grabbing a pillow behind her and tossing it lightly at Nicole’s face while saying, “Gosh you athletes really think everyone is in love with you.”

Nicole laughed, and said, “Well you’re not a very good liar Wave, that shirt is not comfortable at all.” She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a track team t-shirt from high school.  
  
“Here, this is my absolute favorite shirt. Just thought you’d like sleeping in it more than I do,”

“Okay, but can you try to say that without the face,” Waverly said standing up to put her hands over Nicole’s face trying to cover it completely.

Nicole smiled widely before throwing Waverly over her shoulder and tossing her lightly onto the bed. Waverly laughed as she sat up, she knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t hesitate. She pulled on Nicole’s shirt until Nicole's body was on top of hers. Nicole’s hands were pressed against the bed above Waverly’s shoulders. Waverly was pinned down and smiled at her, desperately waiting for Nicole to make the next move.

“Wave—” Nicole whispered as she closed her eyes, trying to come up with any reason to stop herself.

Waverly leaned towards Nicole, and grabbed onto the back of her neck.

“Baby, why do you fight me so much?”

Nicole opened her eyes, she was afraid of where this would lead, but having Waverly call her ‘baby’ like that made her complete and utter mess. She kissed Waverly hard, and felt Waverly’s hands move from the back of her neck to her hair. Waverly loved how pulling on Nicole's hair a certain way would elicit beautiful sounds from her girlfriend's mouth. Those sounds caused Waverly to arch her back off of the bed, in attempt to grind into Nicole. In order to counter that, Nicole would push against her hipbones keeping her in place and not allowing Waverly to get the friction she desperately needed. It drove Waverly nearly insane, but she loved every second of it. In attempt to regain a bit of control, Waverly bit Nicole’s neck. It seemed to work because the contact threw Nicole off rhythm, she couldn’t believe how helpless she became around Waverly. It wasn’t long before, Waverly began pulling at the belt loops of Nicole jeans, trying to get closer to her. Nicole moaned lightly at the initial contact, and it only encouraged Waverly to continue. Waverly was on the bottom, yet  in complete control of the entire situation. Nicole exhaled loudly trying to stop herself from reacting to Waverly’s body underneath her.

“We shouldn’t,” Nicole hesitated a bit, trying to regain composure.

“You’re probably right,” Waverly mocked.

Waverly flipped them over, and was now on top of Nicole. She held Nicole’s hands above her head pausing to stare at the girl beneath her. The two continued kissing, neither of them really wanting to pull away. Waverly’s hands ran underneath Nicole’s shirt lifting it over her head and throwing it across the room. Waverly looked at Nicole’s body, savoring every single second.

"You're so hot," Waverly whispered into Nicole's ear.

Nicole began kissing Waverly's neck causing chills to run up and down Waverly's entire body. As Waverly began unbuttoning Nicole’s jeans, the door bell rang. The two pulled away quickly. Nicole looked for her shirt, and of course she couldn’t seem to find it. Neither of them were thinking clearly. In attempt to help Nicole out she took her shirt off and threw it at Nicole, so that she could go downstairs and open the door. Nicole put it on quickly and walked downstairs to see who it was, but found that someone was already unlocking the door with a key. Waverly looked around the room for a shirt to put on. She found Nicole's track shirt, that had started this entire thing up in the first place, peeking out from under the bed. Waverly she threw It on and went downstairs behind Nicole.

The door swung open and Nicole turned bright red when she realized who it was. Nicole tried fixing her hair that Waverly had displaced when she ran her fingers through it.

“Mom!” Nicole said super embarrassed.

“I’ve been calling you sweetheart,” her mom said looking around the loft. “I saw your car outside, and –”

Waverly tried to silently sneak back up the stairs when she realized it was Nicole’s mom, but Nicole’s mom saw her before she could get away.

“Hello, Waverly, my daughter’s uh, what was it Nicole?” she said turning her attention to her daughter. “Oh that’s right your ‘just friend’ as you called her?” Nicole's mom tilted her daughters chin getting a better look at the bite mark Waverly had left on Nicole's neck. Nicole looked down. She closed her eyes tightly hoping that she could magically disappear somehow.

“Okay yeah mom, can I just talk to you for a sec, outside,” she said pulling her towards the door.

“Nicole what are you wearing, is that a crop top? and why is she wearing your favorite shirt? Jesus, what’s on your neck?” her mom said getting increasingly upset, “You know what - I don’t even want to know, just please for the love of God – tell me that this girl is just a temporary playmate,” her mom said interested to hear her daughter’s response.

“Mom, stop. Whatever your thinking, just stop it okay?” Nicole really didn’t know what she and Waverly were, so she couldn’t even answer her mom accurately if she wanted to. “Why did come?” Nicole said lightly trying to change the subject and get her mom out as soon as possible.

“I just came to drop this off since you weren’t answering,” she said as she handed her daughter a piece of paper, “it’s the address that you need to pick your dress up from.” Nicole looked at her mom increasingly confused.

“For the anniversary party your father and I are having. Shae is your date remember? We planned this Nicole, you agreed months ago.” Her mom rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe that Nicole had forgotten.

“Yeah mom, got it. But do I still need to go with Shae or can I bring –” Nicole’s voice trailed off when she noticed her mother’s facial expression.

_If you say Waverly Earp, I will strangle you myself Nicole,_ her mom thought briefly before coming up with a better idea, “You’re right, we should invite Waverly.” Before Nicole could respond, her mom walked inside and handed Waverly an extra invitation from her purse. Waverly was on the stairs extremely confused at the gesture. “Really, you should make an effort to come, Earp,” Nicole’s mom said patronizingly.

Nicole’s mom grabbed onto her daughter’s face who was standing directly behind her, “You are going with Shae, Nicole. Like it or not,” she whispered in her ear.

“You guys have fun,” her mom said sarcastically as she slammed the door behind her.

Waverly noticed that Nicole’s disposition had changed, trying to break the tension she said, “I really think your mom’s starting to warm up to me.”

“Yeah,” Nicole answered half-distracted, still trying to figure out why she invited Waverly if she wanted Nicole to go with Shae. The only reason Nicole could come up with was so that Waverly could see Shae and Nicole together first-hand.

“So I guess the sun came up already,” Waverly said pointing up, she secretly hoped that her observation would prompt Nicole to ask her to be her girlfriend for real and not just for the night.

“Yeah I guess it did,” Nicole responded casually. She was obviously thrown off by her mom’s visit. Originally, Nicole planned to ask Waverly to be her girlfriend at the end of the night, she wanted to tell her that she wanted an entire future with the pretty girl, but things seemed different now. She worried about her mother’s judgmental tendencies, and remembered how cruel her mom could be when she truly wanted to hurt somebody. She definitely didn’t want Waverly to be on the receiving end of her mother’s rage.

_She’s better off without you. If you like her then you gotta let her go,_ she thought as she looked up at just how beautiful Waverly truly was. It took everything inside of her to resist the urge to carry Waverly upstairs to continue what they had begun before the door bell rang. Nicole offered to take Waverly back to school. She nodded politely, slightly upset that the night didn’t lead to more. At the same time Waverly understood that she couldn’t rush Nicole into a relationship with her, and she was willing to wait for Nicole, she was worth it.

 

Their relationship inevitably changed over the next couple of weeks. They were a lot more than friends at this point, but they were both reluctant to make it official. Nicole walked Waverly to class. They held hands while they walked, and it made Waverly feel extremely special. They were both terrified to admit that there were very real and strong feelings developing. Waverly didn’t want to pressure Nicole to label the relationship, but she also couldn’t keep her hands off of Nicole – but apparently neither could other girls. Nicole was a really popular girl and she seemed to attract all kinds of attention. Girls shamelessly flirted with Nicole, a handful of times, in front of Waverly. It made Waverly angry, but she couldn’t say much about it because they weren’t exclusive, and they definitely weren’t dating.

_So this is where the face came from,_ Waverly thought. She was referring to the smug look Nicole had when girls hit on her. As she watched Nicole unintentionally flirt back with girls, Waverly bit the inside of her bottom lip. Waverly didn’t mind random girls flirting with Nicole as much as she minded Shae flirting with Nicole. That really irritated her, Waverly hated that Shae had meant something real to Nicole at some point. The feeling was mutual because Shae had the same dislike for Waverly.

Walking Waverly to class became a regular thing because Nicole enjoyed spending time with Waverl - Shae found it difficult to watch. As they walked past her she glared at Waverly, she was unapologetically jealous. She couldn’t even begin to understand how Nicole could trad her in for an Earp. She wanted nothing more than to be Nicole’s girlfriend again, and whenever Shae put her mind to something, she got it. Shae was determined to do whatever she had to do to get Nicole back.

Rosita was loved that Nicole was finally acting on the feelings that she had for Waverly. Nothing made her happier than seeing her friend finally get what she wanted. And it didn’t hurt that she secretly had a crush on Shae. Rosita looked at Shae with the exact eyes that Shae looked at Nicole with.

Waverly loved having someone be so attentive. She never thought she would find someone that could make her feel this special; she could get used to this feeling. Nicole usually walked across campus to grab a cup of coffee and waited for Waverly to get out of class while she caught up on reading. The moon eyed smile Waverly gave Nicole when she saw her waiting for her outside of class made all of it worth it for Nicole. No other girl had ever been able to induce these feelings inside of Nicole, she was falling deeply in love with Waverly Earp.

 

The university hosted a movie night out on the quad. Nicole went with a few of her teammates on the track team. Waverly had a bad day, but agreed to go with Rosita when she persisted. Her day seemed to get worse when Rosita canceled last minute because of an impromptu science club meeting. Nicole ran into Waverly as she was heading off of the quad.

Nicole’s face lit up instantly when she saw Waverly. “Leaving already? Come on, the movie hasn’t even started,” Nicole teased.

“Yeah, I was just heading out, kinda got stood up,” Waverly said sourly.

_You had a date_ , the thought made the smile on Nicole’s face disappear.

“Oh, well their loss – come sit with me. I’m with a group,” Nicole said pointing over at her friends.

Waverly wasn’t in the mood to hang out with a group of people. “I don’t know anyone, I think I’d rather go up to my room, I haven’t really had the best day” Waverly replied.

“Wave –” Nicole reached out and grabbed her arm to keep her from walking away.

_God, don’t make that face baby,_ Waverly hated the hold that Nicole’s pout face had on her. She tried looking down to avoid giving into Nicole’s wishes.

“I’ll ditch them and we can watch the movie together. You can tell me all about your day” Nicole suggested tilting to head to find Waverly’s eyes that were fixed on the ground. Waverly nodded, of course she wanted to spend time with Nicole. “Okay, I’ll be right back,” Nicole said. She grabbed her blanket from her friends, and walked back over towards Waverly.

“All set!” Nicole said excitedly. She reached for Waverly’s hand and pulled her towards a more isolated spot on the quad.

“You really didn’t have to do that.” Waverly said unable to hide the fact that she was ecstatically happy that Nicole chose to sit with her.

“I did, I choose you, every single time,” Nicole said charmingly.

_Then ask me to be your girlfriend, idiot,_ Waverly thought.

They watched a movie together, and Nicole laid her head down on Waverly’s shoulder at some point. Waverly ran her hand through her hair. Waverly loved playing with Nicole’s sift hair. She was intoxicated by Nicole’s scent; she was sure that she had been falling in love with her for some time now. But she was afraid because falling in love with Nicole Haught seemed to be a bottomless pit, and she still wasn’t entirely sure if she would ever stop falling. Regardless, she just couldn’t stop herself from craving more of Nicole everyday.

Nicole looked up at Waverly. “Hey Wave – you look very pretty tonight” Nicole said gently. Waverly hated how beautiful her name sounded when Nicole was the one saying it. Waverly looked at Nicole’s lips, completely lost in the moment. Nicole moved closer to Waverly.

“We shouldn’t” Waverly said trying to put a bit of distance between them.

“You’re probably right,” Nicole teased getting closer to Waverly.

Waverly stared at Nicole helplessly. She couldn’t fight the magnetic pull because she needed to taste Nicole’s lips just as bad.

Everyone clapped signaling the end of the movie. Shae clapped louder than everyone else behind Nicole and Waverly. “Ha! what a pathetic love story,” Shae said loudly, “the one in the movie I mean,” she said pointing at the screen, as she approached the two. Nicole and Waverly quickly stood up while Shae placed herself in between the two.

“Baby, I got my dress for your parent’s vow renewal. You’re gonna want to take it off of me as soon as you see me in it.” Shae pulled on the collar of Nicole’s shirt, drawing her in closer to her. Situations like this were why Nicole couldn’t make things official with Waverly. Nicole came with a lot of baggage, and she didn’t want to drag Waverly into the center of it all. She would do anything to avoid hurting Waverly.

_Shae is invited?_ Waverly thought. _Did Nicole invite her to go with her?_ Waverly was making up all sorts of scenarios in her head.

“I should go,” Waverly said.

“That’s a good idea,” Shae answered. “Oh just a tip,” she said turning around to face Waverly. She whispered to Waverly, “It really turns her on when you press your hand against the back of her neck, not when run your fingers through her hair. That was cute though.” Shae said it quiet enough that Nicole couldn’t hear.

Waverly walked away quickly, she hated that Shae knew things like that about Nicole – about her Nicole. Nicole looked at Shae harshly before running after Waverly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I actually have a second part to this that is almost finished, but it was getting pretty long so I decide to divide it. I will be posting that second part soon, I just wanted to give you guys something to read while I finish it up because you guys have been so incredibly patient :) thanks for always being super kind to me, I don't deserve any of your compliments, but I do appreciate each and every single one of them. 
> 
> Side note: I was originally planning to take a longer break from writing, but I read through the comments and I just had to write out the next piece of the story for you all <3


	11. God, You're Beautiful.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> stuff gets real at the anniversary party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello beautiful people, I hope you all had amazing weeks. And I hope you enjoy this update!

Waverly walked away quickly, she could feel herself getting angrier by the second. She tried to slow her breathing to keep herself from getting more upset. But Shae's words echoed in her mind, and the thought of her with Nicole, like that, made her absolutely furious.

Nicole stared at Shae harshly and said, “After the party, you and me are done.”

She grabbed the blankets on the floor and pushed past Shae, before angrily turning around to stare at her one last time, “I mean it.” Nicole chased after a surprisingly fast Waverly. She spotted her walking towards the campus parking lot. Nicole ran quickly to catch up to her.

Waverly heard Nicole’s footsteps behind her and turned around. “Hey! you should consider joining track, you get away pretty quickly,” Nicole said trying to lighten the mood. Waverly smiled at Nicole who had come after her.

“I just wanted to explain what happened back there,” Nicole said referring to the ‘date’ Shae mentioned.

“Nicole do you like me at all? You always make me feel so special so I’m pretty sure you do, but you never say anything,” Waverly said bluntly looking into Nicole’s eyes. She waited for a response, but Nicole just stared at Waverly blankly. Nicole bowed her head searching for the right words that could explain why she couldn’t answer the question.

“Or maybe you don’t,” Waverly said in a hurt voice, she took a step back thinking that she must’ve been imagining it all. “You know what, I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t just ask that really stupid question,” Waverly said shaking her head and beginning to walk away. Her face was bright red, she never felt embarrassment quite like this before.

“Waverly, stop.” Nicole said tugging on her jacket to bring the small girl in closer towards her. “I don’t like Shae or any other girl, but things are so complicated that I just can’t –” Nicole’s voice broke a little as she tried to explain her reasons. Nicole was referring to her mom’s constant obsession with her life. “All I know is you make me so happy and that I can’t imagine–” Nicole stopped to think about the words that she was about to say, she knew it was selfish to ask Waverly to stay. Whether she asked Waverly to be her girlfriend or went along with her mom’s plans, she knew she was going to end up hurting Waverly regardless.

_Either I will hurt her or my mom will,_ Nicole thought. The thought of Waverly hurting at all made her feel awful. Nicole decided it was best to keep the three little words that she was dying to say to Waverly from tumbling out of her mouth.

Nicole’s face was tense, she hated that she couldn’t be with Waverly; not until she stood up to her mom at least. Waverly noticed that Nicole’s typically sweet eyes were gone, “Hey – I don’t wanna make things more complicated for you baby,” Waverly said, gently placing a hand on Nicole’s face trying to comfort her. Waverly hugged Nicole tightly, she put aside her feelings because all she wanted to do was put a smile back on Nicole’s face. Waverly felt relieved when Nicole sighed heavily and her body relaxed in her arms. Waverly pulled away for a second and held onto both of Nicole’s hands. She stood on her tippy toes to reach Nicole’s face. She kissed Nicole’s cheek softly, and said, “I’ll always be here.” 

“See, there it is,” Waverly said pointing at Nicole’s dimpled smile.

Waverly’s voice soothed Nicole. Nicole knew she had a tendency to be self-destructive and push people away, but the more Nicole fought Waverly, the more Waverly would bring her in closer. She was unlike anyone she ever met.

“You’re amazing,” Nicole said.

“Yeah?” Waverly responded her face glowing up. Waverly blushed and turned away. “In that case, walk me back to my room?” Nicole nodded and reached out for Waverly’s hand.

 

Nicole was expected to ballroom dance with her parents at their upcoming anniversary party. But she found that nearly impossible considering she felt like an idiot when she danced. She joked about it to Waverly as they sat on the bleachers the next day after track practice.

“Oh, and I have to pick up my dress or my mom will freak out,” Nicole said rolling her eyes. Waverly had all kinds of thoughts about what Nicole looked like in the dress. She bit her lip lightly to make sure that all those thoughts stayed inside her head.

“Well it’s your lucky day babe, I’m great at dancing,” Waverly said proudly. “But I’m sweaty,” Nicole whined. Waverly stood up and held her hand out for Nicole. Nicole smiled at Waverly, and followed her as they walked down the bleachers. Once they were on the field, Waverly bowed in front of Nicole and held her hand out dramatically. Waverly spun her around one time before pulling her in closer.

Nicole had on a t-shirt and running shorts, yet somehow Waverly still managed to make her feel like a princess. She loved the feeling of being in Waverly’s arms. “See easy,” Waverly teased trying to encourage the taller girl.

“With you here, yeah. The problem is, I’m not sure what to do with my uncoordinated limbs after this,” Nicole said trying to explain herself better. Nicole sat on down on the grass and Waverly sat next to her. The lights on the field turned off, and the only light coming through was from the sky. There was a brief moment of silence. There was an electric feel that was pulling the two of them closer. They could both feel it, like something special was about to happen.

Nicole turned to face Waverly. “You were right last night,” Nicole said.

“About what?” Waverly asked a little intrigued.

Nicole tucked the loose strands of hair behind Waverly’s ear and whispered “I like you so much Waverly Earp.” The words made Waverly’s body numb, and her heart beat sped up a bit. Waverly waited months to hear those words again, she heard them for the first time the night they met.

_You’re so pretty and I like you so much,_ replayed in Waverly’s mind constantly since that night. Only Nicole wasn’t drunk this time, and they knew each other better than they did that night.

_I like you so much more,_ Waverly thought. She desperately wanted to say it out loud, but Nicole’s words caught her off guard and left her speechless. Enough time passed that saying it would seem somewhat forced. Nicole took a deep breath, a little embarrassed that she had put her feelings out there.

“I can give you lessons – for the dancing, I mean,” Waverly blurted trying to fill the awkward silence. “Yup, that’d be great,” Nicole responded quickly, glad that they both decided not to talk about Nicole’s little announcement.

They arranged the dancing lessons and agreed to go to the loft to have a little more room to practice. Waverly teased Nicole about how stiff her body seemed to be while they danced.

“Nicole relax, dancing is supposed to be fun,” Waverly teased.

“I thought I was relaxed?” Nicole responded.

“Look just follow me, I’ll lead.”

She grabbed Nicole’s waist and tried to get her body to follow along. But Nicole’s body wouldn’t cooperate. Nicole stepped on Waverly a couple of times, and every time Waverly would smile and say that it was okay before Nicole got the chance to apologize.

After an hour of practicing, Waverly tried to think of why Nicole couldn’t pick up the steps.

“Oh my god, you have a problem with me leading,” Waverly said remembering their constant battle for control. Nicole shrugged, but she was pretty certain that Waverly right.

Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. “Now close your eyes and follow the beat of the music. You lead and I’ll follow this time.”

Nicole obeyed, and they made more progress.

“You’re getting better,” Waverly said grabbing a water bottle from her bag. 

“Ha-ha, pretty and funny I see.”

“Just keep practicing, you’ll get it. Trust me once you learn to dance, you’ll be able to sweep any girl you want off of her feet.” Waverly said as she walked out of the room.

_You’re the only girl I wanna sweep off her feet,_ Nicole thought. Nicole was more motivated to learn to dance now. She practiced everyday, hoping that she’d get to dance with Waverly one day.

When Waverly showed up to teach Nicole a couple days later, she was impressed that Nicole was a lot lighter on her feet. The way Nicole held her while they danced, made her feel all gooey inside.

“Hey, so I was thinking about going to your parents’ party,” Waverly mentioned before heading out.

Nicole felt her body get cold. Mainly because she still wasn’t entirely sure what her mother was playing at when she invited Waverly, and she didn’t want to subject Waverly to any kind of pain. Nicole’s disposition changed, she looked nervous.

Waverly noticed immediately, “I don’t have to go, your right, it would be weird.”

“No, you should. I would have asked you to come with me, but I kinda got forced to go with Shae.”

Nicole noticed that Waverly’s smile faded completely when she realized that Nicole was still planning to go with Shae. “Our parents arranged it a long time ago, but I won’t go with her, I mean if you don’t want me to,” Nicole explained trying her best not to hurt Waverly.

“Are you kidding, that’s sooo great! You and Shae are perfect together - I want you to sweep Shae off her feet. You and I are just having fun anyways.” It was getting increasingly harder for Waverly to hide her feelings. She knew she had to get out of there as soon as possible.

Nicole looked down at her phone for a second trying to use it as buffer. She couldn’t pretend that the words that came out of Waverly’s mouth didn’t hurt her.

“I should go though, it’s getting late,” Waverly said trying to get out of the room.

Instead of keeping it to herself, Nicole let out, “Hey Wave – for what it’s worth, I’m not _just_ having fun with you.” Waverly shut the door behind her refusing to think about what Nicole said.

 

The day of Nicole’s parents’ anniversary party, Waverly was going back in fourth about whether or not she was going to attend. A small part of knew it was a bad idea, but a bigger part of her couldn’t help but wonder what Nicole looked like in that dress. Imagining Nicole in a beautiful dress was enough to get her out of bed and fixing her hair. She pulled out the dress that she bought for the occasion from the closet. She laid the dress out on the bed, still unsure of whether she would actually go. 

Halfway through getting ready, Waverly stopped to stare in the mirror. _Oh God, what are you doing?_ Waverly said under her breath.

She bargained with herself, coming to an agreement that if she got a sign of some sort by the time she finished her curling her hair then she would go. There was no sign, none at all. She sat down on the bed for a moment still struggling with the decision.

_Nicole is your sign_ , Waverly thought. Finally, she got up and put on the dress. She knew she looked good. She wore a long sleeved black lace dress that draped over her body perfectly. The lace exposed how tone Waverly's body was. There was a deep v-cut that highlighted her back beautifully. Waverly touched up her makeup and looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She grabbed her keys and the invitation from the desk drawer. She headed out the door, and drove to the venue that turned out to be a beautiful lake house. The mailbox said Haught, and Waverly immediately realized that Nicole’s family owned the property.

Waverly was a little intimidated by the size of the property, she knew that Nicole’s family had money, but never imagined it on this scale. If this was the size of the lake house then she couldn’t even imagine what their actual home looked like. She stayed in the driveway for a bit trying to get over her fear of walking in to see Nicole all over Shae, still debating whether she should turn back. She knew that she couldn’t blame Nicole if she was pursuing Shae, after all, she was the one that suggested Nicole try to get her back.

Eventually gathering enough courage, she walked in through the gate that connected the front yard to the back yard. It was a spacious property, that was decorated extravagantly. Tables with beautiful centerpieces were spread across the backyard. There was a dance floor installed for the night, and the twinkle lights hanging lit up the place completely.

Waverly noticed Nicole immediately.

_She looks amazing in that dress,_ Waverly said smiling and making eye contact with Nicole.

Nicole was wearing a beautiful velvet colored dress. The dress had a slit along the side that exposed Nicole's legs. The straps of Nicole's dress highlighted how toned her arms truly were. Nicole was standing at the bar next to a handsome boy, drinking a whiskey sour. Waverly noticed that she seemed to attract his attention as well. Nicole’s cousin nudged her and said, “Please, please tell me she’s not family.” Nicole looked at him harshly for a second, but didn’t respond. Instead she walked over towards Waverly, unable to keep her eyes off of her even if she tried. 

Shae was tied up helping Nicole’s mom with something and missed Waverly’s entrance. Nicole smiled at Waverly as she got closer.

“Hey stranger, you look – absolutely stunning” she said politely.

“Yeah?” Waverly said smiling widely at the thought that Nicole admitted she looked pretty.

“Yeah, I’m so glad you came,” she said putting her drink down on a nearby table.

“Nicole, why don’t you introduce me to your beautiful friend,” her cousin interrupted extending his hand.

“No,” Nicole responded coldly.

“I mean, not now cause right now I kinda need to talk to her, alone” Nicole said as she pulled Waverly over to the side.

Nicole and Waverly flirted back and fourth for a couple of minutes before Shae appeared. “Baby, your mom wants a picture of us.” “Oh, well who let you in,” she said meanly to Waverly. Shae pulled Nicole away.

Nicole looked back at Waverly who tried her absolute best to hide how much she hated the thought of Shae and Nicole spending any time together.

“Go, I’ll be fine,” Waverly said pushing Nicole away.

“I will be right back, I promise. Oh and Wave – avoid my mom’s side of the family.” 

Waverly nodded and looked for a place to sit down. As soon as Waverly sat down she immediately felt eyes gravitate towards her. Nicole’s family members were curious about whether Waverly was Nicole’s newest girlfriend. She watched Nicole take pictures with Shae. Something about the way Shae held Nicole in the pictures made her uncontrollably jealous. And a jealous Waverly was known to be reckless. Nicole’s cousin that attempted to introduce himself before, noticed Waverly sitting alone.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to save you from being bombarded by nosy family members,” he said as he sat down next to Waverly. “I do have to ask though, are you and Nic a thing?”

Waverly watched as Shae played with Nicole's fingers, before turning around to look at Nicole's cousin. “Not at all,” Waverly answered playing with end of his tie. 

“Well in that case, can I get you a drink?” he asked flirtatiously.

“Yeah that’d be great.” Waverly answered smiling at the boy. 

Nicole was looking at the entire interaction from afar. She waited until her cousin left the table to approach Waverly again.

“He has a girlfriend ya know,” Nicole said pointing at him.

“Apparently everyone who I like seems to,” Waverly responded defensively. “Plus look at him, he’s the most charming Haught I’ve ever met,” Waverly continued.

Her cousin reappeared with two drinks, one in each hand. Nicole grabbed the drink he placed in front of Waverly before Waverly could grab ahold of it and drank it straight. “She’s underage moron,” she said as she walked away from the table.

Waverly managed to make Nicole just as jealous as she was. Something about seeing Nicole just as jealous made her more attractive to Waverly. All they both wanted was time alone with one another. Nicole paced back and fourth before heading inside of the house. Shae followed Nicole inside. 

“Hey babe, where are we going” she said sneaking up behind Nicole in the living room.

“Shae, I meant it when I said we were done.” 

“I know baby, but you said we’re done after the party,” 

“Don't,” Nicole said trying to push away Shae’s advances.

Shae grabbed onto Nicole’s waist, and puled her in. “Come on baby, one more time for old times sakes?” “We can go upstairs, think about it,” Shae said lowering her voice the way she did when she wanted to fool around with Nicole.

Nicole was tempted to take Shae up on her offer. A beautiful girl was asking her to go upstairs with her. Nicole was single, and didn't owe anything to anyone. She was pissed off enough about Waverly and her cousin hitting it off, to actually do it too. But the thought of hurting Waverly wouldn’t leave her mind.

Waverly looked around for Nicole, suddenly Nicole’s mom approached her. “She’s inside honey,” she said pointing towards the house.

Shae and Nicole’s mom originally planned to have Waverly walk in on the two.

Waverly walked towards the empty house, looking for Nicole.

Waverly overhead part of their conversation. “Nicole come upstairs with me, I think I remember exactly how to make you happy. Over and over again. Stop messing around with that Earp girl, everyone except for you seems to know we’re meant to be.”

Waverly felt an ache in the pit of her stomach. She wasn’t entirely sure how ended up in this situation. She was in the middle of nowhere, chasing after someone that had her whole future planned out.

The dress Waverly had on seemed tighter somehow, like it was suffocating her. Waverly was prepared to have her heart broken. Shae kissed Nicole’s shoulders and worked her way up to her neck. “Just kiss me Nicole, I know you want to,” she half-whispered. Shae leaned in to kiss Nicole, and Nicole turned her head to avoid the kiss.

“I can’t,” she said taking a step back. Shae walked away extremely annoyed that the things that used to work on Nicole before weren’t enough to get her back. Waverly smiled and pressed her back against the wall relieved. She watched Nicole walk towards the kitchen. Nicole sat on the counter and sighed heavily thinking about the conversation she had with Shae.

Shae stormed out of the house and Nicole’s mom was nearby. “So, how was it? I sent Waverly in there.” 

“Respectfully ma’am, your daughter is an idiot,” Shae responded.

“Goodness, do I have to do everything myself?” Nicole’s mom said as she rolled her eyes. “Look just get her to dance with you tonight, hold her real close. Can you at least do that?” Shae nodded and walked towards the bar to get a drink.

Meanwhile, Waverly contemplated following Nicole into the kitchen. _Screw it,_ she muttered under her breath as she walked towards the kitchen. Nicole looked up, and was pleasantly surprised when she saw Waverly. “Wave –” Nicole said softly. Before Nicole could say anything else Waverly was standing in front of her kissing her so hard that she had to use a hand to holder face in place. Nicole didn’t fight Waverly at all or attempt to pull away, she kissed her back passionately. Waverly liked the way Nicole’s lips tasted, there was a hint of whiskey that Waverly loved.

Nicole looked like she was about to say something. “Don’t you dare,” Waverly said covering Nicole’s mouth to keep her from saying something that would stop what was about to happen. They heard the door open and a waiter walk in. Nicole hopped off the counter quickly and carried the small girl towards the pantry closet. Waverly had her arms wrapped around Nicole’s neck. Nicole put Waverly down and Waverly turned to lock the door behind them. When Waverly faced the door, Nicole moved Waverly’s hair out of the way and noticed how much the v-cut dress exposed of her back. 

_God, you’re beautiful,_ Nicole said in deeper toned voice.

Nicole’s voice and the fact that she could her body feel her so close to her, made her pulse quicken. Waverly turned around to kiss Nicole again, this time running her fingers through her hair, something about the way Waverly pulled on her hair drove her crazy. Nicole dug her nails into Waverly’s back to keep her hands from going where they really wanted to go. Waverly shuttered at the pressure and light pain that Nicole's nails were creating. Waverly grabbed one of Nicole’s hands and ran it up her inner thigh. She looked up at Nicole innocently before saying, “I want you,” Nicole nodded, ready to do whatever Waverly asked of her. The alarm on Nicole's phone started ringing on top of the kitchen counter, it was 9 o’clock and time for Nicole to dance with her parents. “Crap, I have to go dance,” Nicole said trying to quickly fix her hair.

“We literally have the worst timing,” Waverly said, noticeably upset that they had to stop.

Nicole kissed Waverly’s forehead softly, “I’ll make it up to you baby, I promise.”

When they walked outside, the guests all stared at them. Nicole’s hair was messier than before, and Waverly’s back had Nicole’s nail marks imprinted on it.

After Nicole danced with her parents, Shae gave Nicole a rose and cut in to dance with her. Waverly bit her tongue the entire time. Seeing Shae and Nicole together drove her to the brink of insanity. She watched Nicole dance with Shae. 

_Does she have to hold Nicole so close,_ she said under her breath.

Nicole’s mom appeared behind Waverly, “My daughter looks beautiful doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, she really does,” Waverly said cooly. “Congratulations, you look beautiful as well,” Waverly said looking up at Nicole’s mom.

“Listen Waverly, I want my daughter to be happy.”

“I do too,” Waverly interrupted defensively.

“Good, then you understand why I’m going to ask you to stay away from her. Look how wonderful they look together,” her mom said pointing at Nicole and Shae. “I'm sorry but you’re just not good enough for Nicole sweetheart.”

Waverly stayed silent. Nicole looked over her shoulder and noticed her mom talking to Waverly. She stopped dancing and walked directly towards her; Nicole’s mom had already disappeared by the time she reached the table. 

“Wave— what’d she say to you,”

“Nothing, I just think that I may have overstayed my welcome,”

“Where are you going, I’ll go with you?”

“No, Nicole. You're meant to be with her,” she said pointing at Shae.

Nicole was sad that Waverly couldn’t even look at her.  Waverly stood up and wiped the tears away before they fell down her face, she didn’t want Nicole to see her cry. She walked towards the front of the house, and found Nicole’s dad leaning against the giant oak tree smoking a cigar.

“Waverly, is it?” he asked putting the cigar out and approaching the small girl. Nicole’s dad was a very tall man, and had Nicole’s kind eyes.

“It is.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said politely. Waverly smiled widely, “Yeah it’s nice to meet you too.” Waverly was slightly surprised that Nicole’s dad was a lot nicer than her mom had been.

“Ah-ha, so that’s the smile my daughter tells me so much about,” he said.

Waverly blushed, she was flattered that Nicole told her dad about her. “Listen, I’ve seen Nic in and out of relationships over time. And she’s never looked at a girl the way she looks at you Miss Waverly,” he said.

“Don’t you break her heart,” he said when he noticed his daughter run through the gate desperately looking for Waverly.

“Wave, seriously I’m telling coach to recruit you Monday morning,” Nicole said.

Her dad kissed Nicole on the forehead. “Well I better distract your mom so she doesn’t come looking for you,” her dad said before heading back.

Once they were alone, Nicole got closer to Waverly. “Ya know, we never actually got to dance,” Nicole said as she pulled out her phone.

She set it on the floor, it was loud enough for both of them to hear. Nicole grabbed Waverly’s hand and spun her around twice before holding her between her arms. Waverly was slightly impressed with this super smooth Nicole. She placed a hand on her chest and another around her neck. It wasn’t long before she tucked her head into her shoulder. Being with Waverly always felt right, and they both tuned out the world for a moment. Waverly looked up at Nicole as the song was reaching its end.

“Be my girlfriend, for tonight?” Waverly said softly in her ear.

“Wave –”

“Please don’t stay here with Shae. Come with me instead?”

Nicole disappeared, and Waverly wasn’t sure if she had scared Nicole away. She sat for a moment not knowing whether she should leave. Nicole had to get past her mom to get her things. Nicole’s dad knew exactly what was going on and tried to hide his growing smile.

“Nicole, where are you going?” her mom asked.

“Home, mom.”

Nicole’s mom stood there a bit confused while Shae swallowed hard, unable to accept that Nicole really ditched her for Waverly.

Nicole reappeared with a backpack flung over one of her shoulders, “Where you go, I go.” Nicole said with a smile on her face. "Plus, I did promise to make it up to you," Nicole said. Waverly grabbed onto Nicole's hand excited to finish what they began earlier that night.

The drive back seemed endless. Nicole told Waverly to pull over at the next hotel. With their fingers intertwined, the both of them were equally excited as they were nervous to spend the night together. Nicole checked them in and they kissed on the elevator on their way to the room. Waverly unlocked the hotel room. She couldn't keep her hands off of Nicole, not when she looked like that. She watched Nicole’s eyes fill with desire as she pushed her against the wall. Nicole tried to slow down because she wanted to make sure that Waverly really wanted to. Instead of responding Waverly turned Nicole around and pulled Nicole’s dress zipper down. Waverly kissed Nicole’s shoulders softly and traced her fingers along Nicole’s spine.

Nicole turned around. “Baby, are you sure?”

Waverly nodded. “I lo- like you, Nicole.” Waverly almost let the words slip out. "Well, I like you, too." Nicole responded.

She brought the straps holding Nicole’s dress in place down. Waverly bit her lip as she stared at Nicole’s body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooooooo, how about that ending. I actually wrote the shameless smut that comes after, but I'm not sure whether you guys would even want to read that, so idk idk idk. I'm still deciding whether I'll post it or not. If I don't then I'll just pick up the day after and continue the fic. Thanks for reading lovely people. <3
> 
> also, on a more serious note. I'm going to comment something below that's a very difficult topic to talk about, but that I've had on my mind a lot due to recent life events. So if you're interested in that, check it out. I love you all, and I hope you all have a beautiful day :)


	12. You Feel So Good.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> basically smut. shameless smut. nothing else other than smut going on in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still don't know how I got convinced to post this, but here's the smut I promised you babesss
> 
> feel free to skip past this chapter if it isn't your thing :)

Waverly traced the outline of Nicole’s body with her eyes. Nicole was within arms length of Waverly, and all Waverly wanted to do was run her fingertips against Nicole’s skin. Nicole wore black laced panties with the matching bra.

 _Did she wear that for me._ Waverly blushed at the thought as she continued staring at her beautiful girlfriend. Nicole looked away shyly when she saw the expression Waverly had on her face. Waverly’s confidence was shaken; the person that she craved for months stood right in front of her with the same hungry look in her eyes.

Waverly felt her heart begin to race as Nicole looked directly into Waverly’s eyes. Waverly suddenly became extremely nervous, she knew that Nicole had a history of spending nights with a long list of beautiful women, and she became a little uneasy that she wouldn’t be able to live up to her expectations.

Nicole took a small step closer to her and Waverly took a step back.

“You okay Wave?” Nicole asked softly.

“Yeah, just uh – a little nervous, I’ve never been with a –” Waverly began explaining.

“Hey – we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Nicole interrupted, holding onto Waverly’s hand.

Waverly nodded trying to get over her nervousness. Nicole let go of her hand and picked her backpack up off of the floor. She took her heels off and pulled a t-shirt out to cover up a bit. She continued to look through her backpack looking for sweatpants that she was sure she packed. Waverly stared at Nicole helplessly knowing that she didn’t want her clothed by any means.

 _You want her,_ Waverly said to herself trying to convince herself to get over her insecurities.

“Nicole,” Waverly said softly.

“Yeah give me a sec, just looking for –” Nicole said still filing through her backpack.

“Nicole Haught,” Waverly said in a more pressing tone.

Nicole turned around wondering what was so urgent. Waverly kissed Nicole hard, still tasting the hint of whiskey. She leaned her body against hers, guiding her towards the bed. Nicole laughed a bit when she was pushed gently on to the bed, but stopped when she realized what Waverly was doing. Waverly unbuttoned the dress she was wearing and pulled it off slowly enjoying the way Nicole’s eyes filled with lust as it fell to the floor. She stepped out of her heels and stared at the dress laying on the floor innocently. Waverly knew exactly what she was doing; she knew what kind of reaction she wanted to elicit from her girlfriend. 

“Baby,” Nicole said softly as she stared at Waverly’s body. Waverly stood in front of Nicole for a moment enjoying the attention her body was receiving before quickly climbing on top of Nicole and pressing her body against hers. Waverly instantly resented the shirt that Nicole decided to put on.

Waverly kissed Nicole, and placed Nicole’s hands on her back.

“I want to be yours Nicole,” she whispered.

Waverly wanted Nicole’s nails to ruin her back, the way they had earlier. She needed a reminder in the morning that she belonged to Nicole Haught, even if it was just for one night. Nicole happily obliged, she pressed her nails into Waverly’s skin as Waverly moved her hands up Nicole’s shirt. Nicole’s breaths quickly became labored; months of craving Waverly’s body were to blame for her inability to think clearly.

Waverly smiled when she realized that the smug face Nicole usually wore was completely erased. The thought of having control over when and how Nicole climaxed, made Waverly want to prolong it as long as she could. Waverly began to tease Nicole a bit, moaning softly into her ear as she slowly caressed her body. She loved the way Nicole’s body would squirm underneath hers when she did.

“You’re cruel,” Nicole said opening her eyes, figuring out exactly what Waverly was doing.

“You said you’d make it up to me,” Waverly answered. “This is exactly how I want you baby,” Waverly said before beginning to gyrate slowly against Nicole. Judging by Waverly’s expression, Nicole knew Waverly was finding a lot of pleasure in topping Nicole like this.

Waverly moved her hips rhythmically, and Nicole wasn’t sure how much more teasing she could take. “What are you thinking about baby?” Waverly asked noticing that Nicole’s face changed for a moment.

“God, so many things. Things that Wynonna would absolutely kill me for,” Nicole answered. Waverly was dying to know what those things were, but before she could ask, Nicole flipped them over determined to show Waverly what a real tease looked like.

 _Damn that’s hot,_ Waverly thought as she looked at Nicole towering over her. The look that filled Nicole’s eyes when she was on top of Waverly made something in the center of her stomach ache for Nicole’s touch. She felt pressure building in her core.

Nicole ran the tips of her fingers across Waverly’s ribcage before running a single hand behind Waverly’s back to unhook her bra without pulling it off just yet.  Nicole did it effortlessly. She placed both of her hands on Waverly’s hips to hold them in place before the real teasing began. Once she was positioned correctly she began kissing Waverly’s neck painfully slow. She bit it softly eliciting a sigh from her girlfriend. It wasn’t long before Nicole felt Waverly’s hips beginning to move towards her slowly. She blew on her neck and Waverly exhaled heavily, unable to hide the fact that everything Nicole was doing felt really good. Nicole held Waverly’s hips down, making sure that she wouldn’t find the friction she wanted. Nicole held onto her right hipbone and snaked the other hand in her hair, she tugged on her hair in order get Waverly to turn her head.

“What do you want baby?” Nicole whispered innocently into her ear.

Waverly had her eyes closed, but judging by Nicole’s voice she was sure that the Nicole had a smug look on her face. Waverly was flustered, and couldn’t believe that Nicole was torturing her just as much if not more.

Nicole kissed her way down Waverly’s body, looking up at Waverly before removing the bra that she unhooked before. Waverly watched Nicole stare at her, her eyes filled with desire. Waverly could get used to that look. She turned around playfully and threw the extra pillows off of the bed. She looked back at Nicole, who was biting her lip while staring at her. Nicole pressed her body onto Waverly’s back, she held Waverly’s hair with one hand as she filled Waverly’s back with soft kisses. Nicole took her time, pausing to run her tongue softly along the red lines that her nails made earlier. Every kiss that Nicole placed on her body made Waverly shiver, nobody had ever taken this much time on her body.

Waverly turned back around with open eyes. She watched as Nicole positioned herself on her body again. Waverly held onto Nicole’s waist and pushed her body down applying pressure to where she needed it most. When she did, Nicole instantly felt exactly how aroused her girlfriend was. Nicole’s smile grew twice as big and she looked away a bit shy.

“What?” Waverly asked a little intrigued that Nicole’s expression changed.

Nicole shook her head refusing to answer. “Tell me,” Waverly said pulling her face in closer to hers.

“Baby, you’re wet. Really fucking wet,” Nicole answered, the smug look returning.

Nicole slipped a hand down Waverly’s body, and she began playing with the lining of Waverly’s panties.

“Nicole,” Waverly whined upset that Nicole knew exactly what she wanted, and was still trying to tease her.

“Oh I’m sorry, you don’t like it when I tease?” Nicole asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well what do you like baby,” Nicole asked, knowing that Waverly couldn’t answer even if she wanted to. 

Nicole ran the outside of her hand across Waverly’s panties, careful not to apply too much pressure. 

“Do you like that?” Nicole asked innocently. 

Waverly’s body shuttered, and she nodded unable to speak. “Or this,” Nicole said slipping her hand inside her girlfriends panties and running a single finger through Waverly’s wet folds. Waverly had never wanted someone more than in that moment. She felt every cell in her body gravitating towards Nicole’s touch.

Waverly instantly regretted teasing Nicole at all. She felt her body hurting for a single touch from Nicole.

Gathering every bit of strength in her body Waverly struggled to mutter the word, “Neither.” She knew that the only way to beat Nicole was to outlast her teases by getting her off first.

Waverly straddled Nicole, and asked Nicole for her shirt. Nicole nodded, intrigued about what Waverly was planning to do with it. Nicole took off her shirt and gave it to Waverly. Waverly folded it neatly before asking Nicole to lean forward. Nicole obeyed and Waverly tied it over Nicole’s eyes blocking her eyesight completely.

“Blindfolds, are your thing?” Nicole teased, before becoming extremely silent.

She suddenly felt Waverly’s hands begin to touch her body. Waverly squeezed her girlfriend’s breasts before placing her mouth over her nipple. She loved the way it hardened at her touch. As much as she enjoyed it, Waverly knew exactly what she wanted, and continued her way down towards Nicole’s abdomen.

“I think blindfolds might be your thing,” Waverly shot back seeing first-hand how wet her girlfriend was. 

Nicole moaned lightly when she felt Waverly’s face between her thighs and her fingers beginning to play with her panties teasingly.

Waverly bit Nicole’s inner thigh, and loved the way Nicole’s back arched off the bed for a second. She breathed lightly on Nicole’s sex enjoying every second of having Nicole this worked up. Waverly slid Nicole’s panties down a bit without taking them off completely.

“Fuck Wave,” Nicole whined.

Nicole wasn’t one to curse a lot, so hearing her whine profanities followed by her name was gratifying for Waverly. Nicole’s deeper toned voice set off an instinctual need inside of Waverly. She leaned forward and began placing soft kisses against Nicole’s sex, trying to figure out exactly what Nicole liked. Her tongue quickly learned which spots seemed to drive her girlfriend crazy. Nicole tightened her legs around Waverly’s face when Waverly rubbed her thumb against the outside of Nicole’s entrance.

Maybe it was the blindfold that left everything to imagination for Nicole or the fact that Waverly was doing everything perfectly, regardless Nicole was nearly losing her mind.

Nicole shuttered when she no longer felt her girlfriend’s tongue pressed against her, Waverly kissed Nicole’s neck on her way up, she asked, lust in her voice, “You taste so good, open your mouth for me baby.”

Nicole obeyed and Waverly pressed two fingers against her tongue. Nicole ran her tongue against Waverly’s fingers quickly, doing anything to feel Waverly’s touch again. She felt Waverly’s palm moving down her body.

“Oh my God –” Nicole muttered in anticipation.

Waverly slid the two fingers into Nicole, pushing them in and out of her at relatively slow pace. She saw Nicole’s hips moving towards her. Waverly paused, her fingers still inside her girlfriend. “Baby,” Nicole whined again, practically begging Waverly to continue.

Waverly was planning to, but first she wanted Nicole to know that she was in charge. Waverly kissed her girlfriend’s neck sucking on her pulse point until she noticed it getting a darker shade. _Mine,_ she whispered softly.

Without missing a beat, Waverly went back to what she was doing, speeding up the pace of her fingers inside of Nicole. Nicole’s body was grinding against Waverly’s hand. Waverly kept the same rhythm until Nicole’s body accustomed itself to Waverly’s movements, at which point she’d switch it up to prolong Nicole’s orgasm. 

Nicole took her blindfold off, unable to handle this seemingly endless teasing. She looked at Waverly who was shamelessly proud of how much she had turned Nicole on. 

 _She has the same ego,_ Nicole thought. Knowing exactly what she had to do to get what she wanted. 

Nicole grabbed Waverly’s neck, and pulled their faces together. “Does it feel good, to see me like this. Losing my mind over every single one of your touches.” Waverly immediately felt her heart beating faster.

“Yeah.” Waverly answered in a breathier tone.

“Baby, I love the way that you fu–.” Nicole finished her sentence in Waverly’s ear. She hoped that saying it would inspire Waverly to stop torturing her.

Waverly quickly began hitting every spot she learned drove Nicole crazy, relentlessly. She slid two fingers in and out of her girlfriend twice before curling her fingers on the third stroke making sure to hit her girlfriends g-spot, before repeating the pattern. It was the flawless execution that drove Nicole crazy. Waverly didn’t slow down or falter. Nicole felt her breaths becoming more shallow, almost like she could feel the actual air that filled her lungs. She felt her back arching off the bed and her toes beginning to curl in anticipation. “Wave, I’m gonna –” Nicole said before Waverly interrupted running her free hand into her hair, “I know, god you feel so good baby.”

Nicole’s eyes rolled to the back of her head as she shut her eyes. Waverly felt the walls surrounding her fingers get tighter. Waverly watched as her girlfriend’s body began to spasm involuntarily underneath her. She was sure she’d never seen a more beautiful sight.

Nicole opened her eyes, her mind still passively catching up to her body.

Waverly attempted to continue to touch Nicole. She wanted to continue making Nicole feel this incredible. But every time she did Nicole’s body would shutter, too sensitive to be touched.

After a brief moment, Nicole regained her composure. _Lay down_ Nicole said in a more authoritative tone.

Waverly obeyed, and Nicole immediately began working herself down her girlfriend’s body. She squeezed her breasts, before taking each of them into her mouth. 

“I’m about to show you exactly what you made me feel, baby,” Nicole said before moving a little lower.

“But in order to do that, I’m gonna need you to do what I say. When you feel like your about to orgasm, I need you to pull on my hair.”

Waverly nodded vigorously as she waited for Nicole to begin. She removed Waverly’s panties, instantly loving what she saw.

Nicole grabbed Waverly’s waist, pulling her closer to her mouth. She dug her nails into Waverly’s back as she began moving her tongue in circles around her girlfriend’s clit.

Waverly’s hips instinctively began moving towards Nicole’s face. Nicole looked up to see Waverly’s face. _She looks so good like that,_ she thought as she continued pleasing her. She noticed that Waverly was trying her best to be quiet, she bit down on her knuckle and had her other hand gripping the bed sheets. Nicole reached for Waverly’s hand that she was using to suppress her moans and placed it on her head, she wanted to hear everything Waverly was feeling. Waverly began moaning louder, and Nicole couldn’t help but love every single noise that came out of her girlfriend’s mouth.

Waverly’s ran her fingers through Nicole’s hair, pushing her face gently into the places that needed a little more pressure. Nicole flattened her tongue and ran it through Waverly’s sex.  Waverly’s grip on Nicole’s hair grew tighter as Nicole began teasing Waverly’s entrance. Nicole slipped her tongue inside of her girlfriend, and just as she expected Waverly’s moans became a lot breathier and desperate. Waverly shoved her head into the pillow; the hand tangled in Nicole’s hair demanding her girlfriend to continue doing exactly what she was doing. She knew if Nicole kept it up, she would find herself coming sooner than she expected.

Nicole dug her nails into Waverly back a little deeper, while simultaneously flicking her talented tongue inside her girlfriend.

Waverly pulled Nicole’s hair back seconds later. 

Through gasps Waverly explained, “ Y-you um said um to pull when –”

Nicole smiled, as she laid next to Waverly. She kissed Waverly before pining her tongue against her girlfriends. Waverly bit Nicole’s bottom lip in response to all the frustration she was feeling in her core. She tore the skin on the inside of her girlfriend’s lip and ran her tongue against the small cut. _Yeah I guess I deserved that,_ Nicole thought as she picked her small girlfriend and placed her directly on top of her. Waverly looked extremely comfortable in that position.

She began grinding underneath her, and Waverly began moaning softly. Waverly felt herself dripping all over her girlfriend. Nicole held onto Waverly’s hips moving them and trying to guide her. It wasn’t long before Waverly was the one moving all on her own, to the pace she wanted.

She placed a hand against Nicole’s chest as she rode her girlfriend.

“Does that feel good baby?” Nicole asked knowing the answer. Waverly nodded unable to put what she was feeling into words.

“I want you to finish all over me,” Nicole said pulling her down harder towards her body. Waverly pressed her mouth to Nicole’s ear, so her girlfriend could hear exactly what she was doing to her. 

Nicole didn’t plan to orgasm again, but something about the way that Waverly moved her body against hers made it impossible. _God the way she moans for me,_ Nicole thought.

Waverly could feel her girlfriend getting wet, and the thought of that made her continue to grind into her the way she was. 

“Fuck, baby,” Nicole said almost breathless.

Nicole’s voice made Waverly begin to thrust faster involuntarily, searching for a sweet release.

 _God you feel so good,_ she whispered one last time before they both found themselves getting off at the same time. Their bodies perfectly in synch as they began contracting uncontrollably and went past the edge of ecstasy. They rode out their orgasms together, until Waverly’s body slowly relaxed into Nicole’s. Their lungs still struggling to find air.

Waverly was surprised at how natural everything felt with Nicole. She might’ve had no idea what she was doing, but being with Nicole felt familiar.

Waverly rolled off of Nicole, not yet sure of what this meant. She knew that the feelings she had for Nicole were intensified by ten, but she wasn’t sure what she’d do if Nicole didn’t want her anymore. She sat up on the edge of the bed for a second before she pointed at the shirt on the floor that they had used as a blindfold and asked Nicole if she could borrow it.

“It’s yours,” Nicole answered, willing to give Waverly everything she owned after what they just did.

Waverly smiled and threw it on while she walked to the bathroom. She rinsed her face, trying to get rid of the rosiness in her face. She leaned her back against the bathroom wall, trying to piece together how she was going to tell Nicole everything she was feeling without scaring her away.

When she returned, Nicole was laying in bed with sweatpants and an extra shirt from her backpack. She gave Waverly a dimpled smile, and patted the spot next to her on the bed conveying that she wanted her to come be her little spoon. Waverly smiled and curled up next to her in bed.

“Nicole, that was amazing. At least for me, it was –” Waverly began explaining.

Nicole kissed the back of Waverly’s neck gently and pulled her body in closer to hers in hopes that it would show Waverly what she was feeling – knowing that words couldn’t do justice to how she felt. It wasn’t long before Waverly drifted off to sleep, in the arms of the girl she was sure she was in love with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeahhhh I'm about eighty to ninety percent convinced that this is probably my first and last attempt at writing smut. I'm sorry if it wasn't any good, I haven't read nearly enough to be decent at it at all, but I gave it a shot for you guys! and goshhhh now I feel super shy all of the sudden; okok byeee
> 
> oh also to all my peeps in the united states, have a happy thanksgiving this week if you celebrate it; super thankful for all you cuties and I hope everyone is doing well <3


	13. You, Me, Track Field.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the story is moving along, finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this update took longer than I expected because it's freezing outside and colds happen. Anywayssss, I hope you guys enjoy reading this short update.

Nicole couldn’t fall asleep that night. She couldn’t get rest knowing that Waverly was sleeping in her arms. Waverly’s body was cuddled into her, using Nicole’s warmth as her bonus blanket. Nicole tried her best to sleep, but woke up every so often to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. She heard her phone ringing in her backpack. She pulled away from Waverly gently, trying her best not to wake the small girl up. She grabbed her phone and tiptoed to the bathroom to take the call.

It was her dad calling her about her uncle getting into an accident, and the urgency for her to get home as soon as possible. Nicole quickly agreed and hung up the phone.

Nicole walked over to tell Waverly that she had to go, but seeing her sleeping soundly made her not want to ruin the moment.  Especially since she was only waking her up to give her the news that she was leaving. Instead Nicole grabbed a rose from the centerpiece on the table in the hotel room and placed it on top of Waverly’s phone on the nightstand. She attached a note to the rose and left her backpack next to the bed so Waverly could have a bag to put her things in when she left. She walked out the room making sure to close the door gently behind her.

Nicole rode the elevator to the lobby and sure enough the family car Nicole’s dad sent to the hotel was waiting outside for her. Nicole got inside the car and rested her head against the window replaying the night with Waverly in her mind. She quickly pulled out her phone to explain to Waverly where she had run off to, she didn’t want her to worry.

Waverly opened her eyes a couple of hours later. She immediately noticed how much colder the bed felt. She missed the arms that she assumed were wrapped around her all night. She sat up and realized that Nicole was gone. She felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. _Nicole,_ she said half asleep, hoping that she would respond. She stood up to look for Nicole around the room and couldn’t find her, she felt her lungs struggling to fill with air. Her breaths became shallow, and she felt tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She reached for her phone and noticed a rose sitting on top of it.

Waverly smiled at she stared at the rose; she noticed the note attached to it. She read it hoping that it would bring a little clarity to the situation. Instead the note confused her more: _because you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever held._

Waverly checked her phone, and noticed she had a message from Nicole.

 

Wave – family emergency and had to go home, but I’ll be back in a couple of days. I miss you already.

 

Waverly hugged her phone relieved that Nicole hadn’t just left her there. She reread the message. _I miss you already,_ she whispered to herself trying to hide her growing smile. She laid down for a moment and placed her phone on the nightstand. She caressed the pedals of the rose. _She left me a flower,_ _she thinks I’m pretty,_ Waverly smiled helplessly. She hid her face under the covers embarrassed that Nicole could make her happy with a simple gesture.

 

“So who’s the lucky person?” the family driver asked noticing Nicole’s face when Waverly finally texted her back.

“I think I’m the lucky one,” Nicole responded. It wasn’t long before they arrived at Nicole’s childhood home. Nicole’s dad met his daughter at the gate.

He hugged his daughter tightly, before pointing out the red mark on his daughter’s neck. 

“Nic, I get that Waverly’s great, but you’re still my little girl. For my sanity, cover that up.” 

Nicole blushed forgetting that Waverly bit her neck the night before.

“Got it dad,” she said trying to use her short hair to cover it as best as she could. 

“She makes you really happy, doesn’t she?” he asked noticing the newfound glow on his daughter’s face.

“Yeah, she’s pretty special,” Nicole said trying to hide the inevitable smile she got every time she got the chance to gloat about Waverly Earp.

“You make that girl your girlfriend, before someone else does,” her dad said, trying to give his daughter some advice. 

“I’ve got people on it, and I’m on it,” Nicole responded hugging her dad once more.

“So how’s he doing?” she asked referring to her uncle. 

“Not the best, but it’ll mean the world to her that you’re here. He doesn’t have kids but you know you’ve always been his favorite.” Nicole smiled as she headed inside. She spent the rest of the day by her uncle’s side.

Nicole felt the urge to call Waverly that night, she missed her voice so much. She went back and forth between suggesting it, before deciding to text her goodnight instead. 

Nicole went into town the next day with her mom. She expected to run into a couple of her friends from high school in the town square, and wasn’t surprised when she did. She didn’t expect what happened next.

“Hey Haughty,” a soft voice said behind her.

Nicole felt her legs get weak, she recognized the voice instantly. The sweetness in the voice and familiarity reminded her of being a reckless teenager. Her voice sounded like staying out all night and feeling invincible. Nicole closed her eyes for a moment trying to remember her face. Her mom rolled her eyes when she noticed it was Nicole’s first girlfriend, Sophie. The one she did the absolute impossible to keep away from her daughter.

 _At least it’s not the Earp girl,_ her mom thought. “Well I’ll leave you two to catch up, I’ll be over there,” she said, the wheels in her head beginning to turn. _She’s not an Earp,_ she whispered to herself once more before going into the store.

Nicole’s ex-girlfriend was stunning. She was tall like Nicole with an athletic build. She had dimples that added a warmness to her contagious smile. Her hair was light brown and it fell perfectly down past her shoulders. Her skin was tanned and to Nicole's surprise, she still wore the lipstick she loved. Nicole stared into her green eyes, and for a single moment she felt like a teenager again. 

Nicole smiled at the girl, unsure of what to say or where to begin catching up. She wasn’t sure what a person was supposed to say when they’re standing in front of their first love. In that moment, so many firsts that they shared rushed into her brain – clouding her ability to think and speak. Still unable to say a word, Nicole felt flustered and her cheeks became rosy. 

“You’re blushing,” she said grabbing onto Nicole’s face playfully.

“So are you,” Nicole responded noticing the same look on her face.

“Yeah well, I guess your first love always has that hold on you,” she said lightly. 

Nicole nodded before she looked around for her mom. “I should probably go,” she said pointing towards her mom who was staring at the interaction from afar.

“Nic?” 

“Yeah?” Nicole said turning around.

“I like your hair like that, it’s different. You look good, is all,” she said brushing her fingers through Nicole’s soft red hair before walking away. Nicole stood there not entirely sure why the compliment made her so happy. 

 

Waverly didn’t realize how happy seeing Nicole around campus made her, until Nicole wasn’t around anymore. Nicole was miles upon miles away, but Waverly hoped she’d run into her somehow.  She walked past the track field, hoping that Nicole would magically be at practice. She missed their talks on the bleachers, and the way Nicole smiled when Waverly said something funny. 

When she got to her room that day after cheerleading practice she found a rose placed outside of her door. She smiled when she realized it was identical to the one she found on the nightstand at the hotel room. The note attached to the stem read _because I miss walking you back to your room after practice._

Waverly grabbed her phone to tell Nicole to call her that night, she sent the message and felt a wave of nervousness come over her. They had never been apart long enough to talk on the phone, and the feeling of having a conversation seemed terrifying.

 _What if she doesn’t want to talk to me,_ Waverly said to herself as she paced around the room, clearly overthinking the situation. Waverly laid down and pressed her head against the pillow, closing her eyes for a moment, as she nervously awaited Nicole’s response.

Waverly’s phone began to ring in her hand.

 _Oh my god, she’s calling,_ Waverly said aloud. She blushed and tried to calm down a bit before answering the phone.

“Hey stranger,” Nicole said softly. Waverly couldn’t believe how much she missed hearing that voice. The two talked all night completely losing track of time. Before they said goodbye Nicole wanted Waverly to know exactly how she felt about her.

“Wave I –”

“Don’t. Just wait until I can kiss you,” Waverly interrupted wanting to hear the words in person rather than over the phone.

“But I just really –” Nicole continued.

“Me too, baby. But just don’t say it yet, goodnight,” Waverly said as she hung up the phone and turned her body around to face the wall. She bit her thumb lightly trying to stop the butterflies in her stomach from becoming more. 

Nicole had full intentions of asking Waverly to be her girlfriend when she got back to school. The distance only reinforced how much she wanted to be with her.

The next day brought a new rose with a private message. Waverly smiled like a fool when she found it outside her door. Nicole’s mom walked over to her daughter’s room that night and overheard part of Nicole’s phone conversation with Waverly. Her mom realized that Nicole’s infatuation with Waverly wasn’t purely physical, and the thought made her sick.

 

The next morning at breakfast, Nicole’s mom sat across her daughter.

“So how’s Sophie doing?” her mom said loudly, interrupting the conversation Nicole was having with her dad.

“We didn’t catch up much, but I think she’s doing okay,” Nicole responded. A little confused about her mom’s growing interest in the ex girlfriend that she personally drove away from her.

“Oh come on Nicole, I was there. I know how much you loved her and how much she loved you,” her mom said as she placed a hand on her daughters. “I know I wasn’t supportive, but things are different now, plus her eyes still look at you the way they did when you guys were teenagers.” Her mom smiled at Nicole hoping to get a read on how her daughter felt about Sophie.

Nicole’s eyes narrowed a bit trying to figure out what her mom was trying to imply. 

“You should see the way Nic’s eyes light up around Waverly, _now_ that’s really something,” her dad interrupted as he refilled his cup of coffee.

Nicole smiled at her dad before turning her attention back to her mom, “listen mom, Waverly is the only girl that I –”

“Hold that thought honey,” her mom said hearing the door bell ring. Nicole’s mom opened the door and hugged the girl at the door tightly. She guided her to the table.

“Look who it is,” Nicole’s mom said boastfully. Sophie smiled at Nicole.

“Nicole, I heard about your uncle, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know how close your guys are,” she said putting her hands around Nicole.

“Did you?” Nicole mouthed silently to her mom while she hugged Sophie.

Her mom shook her head, rejecting to take any responsibility for Sophie showing up.

“Nicole, don’t be rude. Ask your guest to stay for breakfast,” her mom said grabbing Nicole’s dad’s arm and exiting the room to give the two privacy.

“Did she tell you to show up?” Nicole asked when they were finally alone. 

“Oh come on, your mom and I plotting together. The world would have to be upside down for that to happen,” she teased. “Nic, we agreed to be friends when we broke up, and I just wanted to be here for you because I still care a lot about you,” she explained. 

Nicole nodded. She couldn’t deny that there were certain days that she missed her. Sophie had a piece of Nicole’s heart that nobody could ever have. The two talked for a bit.

“I’m leaving tomorrow, but it was really nice seeing you,” Nicole said as she walked Sophie to the door. 

“Alright, well come visit more often so I don’t have to miss you so much,” she said playfully. She pressed a finger against Nicole’s neck noticing the hickey hiding behind the makeup, “that’s new, from what I remember you liked nice girls that were gentle and soft, but I guess things have changed a lot since – ” Sophie stopped herself from finishing the sentence. She placed a soft kiss on her cheek, smiling at the lipstick print left on Nicole’s cheek, before heading out.

 

Waverly spent the day completely distracted. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t get the taste of Nicole’s lips off her mind. She never craved someone’s touch this much. She couldn’t focus on anything other than Nicole's body. She knew that Nicole was coming home the next day and that almost made it worse. Since their night together, Waverly couldn’t help but think about the next time they’d be together again. Being with Nicole was addicting. That night Waverly waited impatiently for Nicole to call her.

Nicole stared at herself in the mirror that night, trying her best not to think about Waverly. She noticed the infamous hickey for the first-time. She ran her fingers along her neck admiring the Waverly’s work. She smiled thinking about it, as flashbacks of the night replayed in her head. She turned on the sink and ran her hands underneath cold water trying not to think about all the things Waverly made her feel that night. She sighed heavily when the thoughts wouldn’t go away. She heard her phone ring in her bedroom, and she ran over to answer the phone.

“Nicole,” Waverly’s said, her voice lower than usual. 

“Hi cutie, what’s going on?” Nicole asked curiously. 

“So I’m laying in bed, and I miss you, like I miss you-miss you,” Waverly responded her voice becoming a little more desperate. 

Nicole walked over and closed her bedroom door, knowing exactly what it was that Waverly was insinuating; happy to be the person to help her out.

The next day Waverly received a text message from Nicole that said she’d be outside her room in ten minutes. Waverly excitedly stood up and taped a handwritten sign to her door and headed towards the track field.

Nicole got to Waverly’s door, she knocked lightly before she read the sign placed on the door. _Me, You,_ _Track Field?_

Nicole smiled and headed towards the track field. She wanted to walk and be cool about it, but she couldn’t help but want to run there. She missed Waverly so much and just wanted the chance to wrap her arms around her. Her walk quickly turned into a jog, and her jog quickly turned into a run. She stopped when she saw Waverly standing on top of the bleachers.

 _Of course she’s not wearing a jacket,_ Nicole thought as she took hers off to put it over the small girl.

The lights in the track field were off, and sparkly lights were placed around the spot in the bleachers where they talked after practice. Waverly was holding a rose in her hand, smiling at Nicole.

Nicole walked up the steps slowly and smiled at the pretty girl in front of her. She placed her jacket around Waverly who was already shivering.

“So you have been getting the roses then?” Nicole said.

“I have, they’re very sweet,” Waverly responded. “I actually got this one for you,” she continued.

“Yeah?” Nicole said her face lighting up. She was smitten that Waverly returned the gesture.

Waverly nodded as she handed it to Nicole. Nicole read the message attached to the flower. _Because I think you like me too._

Waverly stepped closer to Nicole. “Nicole, I just want –”

“I know, baby.” Nicole interrupted noticing that Waverly was getting nervous. She placed a kiss on her forehead, and knew that Waverly needed Nicole to say it. 

Nicole took a deep breath. This was it. Nicole grabbed onto Waverly’s hand and said, “Baby, I want you to be my girlfriend tonight, tomorrow night, and every single day after that.”

Waverly smiled, she held onto Nicole’s face and pressed her lips against her cheek before placing another kiss on her girlfriend’s lips.

“Actual girlfriends? Not just for one night?” Waverly asked her smile growing wider.

“Actual girlfriends,” Nicole said softly. Waverly nodded and placed a kiss against Nicole’s lips as Nicole pulled Waverly’s in closer.

Waverly touched the outline Nicole’s lips with the tip of her finger, and watched as Nicole lips followed it. She could get used to feeling this way. “I’d love to be your girlfriend,” Waverly whispered in between soft kisses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay, wayhaught is finally together :) not sure when I'll update again because I can't feel my nose atm, but I can't wait to start writing wayhaught as girlfriends stuff for you guys.
> 
> Oh and as far as the smut is concerned, I appreciate the comments and feedback; you guys were very kind as per usual. I read them, but I was too shy to respond cause I'm a loser. Not sure whether i'll be trying that again. Half of me wants to set up the scene and leave the rest to imagination, and the other half wants to write it. I guess I'll just see how it goes and if it happens, it happens :)
> 
> Also I'm excited because I originally wanted the fic to be centered around the first love versus new love dynamic and how confusing navigating through that can be. Again thanks for reading cuties, you guys are all perfect and I love every single one of you.


	14. I Really Do.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just girlfriendddd stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi hi cute people, I hope you like the update. Also, I'm sorry it took so long, I actually wasn't planning on putting off updating this that long, so I appreciate the patience :)

Nicole walked Waverly back to her room, there was a new wave of nervousness between the two, one that had never been there when they were just friends. Nicole stuttered a little as she said goodbye to her girlfriend, with all the excitement her mind was thinking faster than her body could process. Waverly thought Nicole’s newfound stutter utterly adorable, she stood on her tippy toes and placed a hand on Nicole’s face before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She smiled at her once more and went inside of her room. 

 _Does she have to be that cute,_ Waverly thought as she closed the door.

Nicole pressed her back against Waverly’s door and said _she’s my girlfriend_ quietly. Her cheeks were rosy at the thought. Nicole had a hard time sleeping that night, it was difficult to keep herself from walking upstairs to see Waverly for no good reason other than that she missed her.

Things felt different for Waverly that morning – she woke up feeling a little less alone, like she finally had someone that she could depend on.

Nicole waited for Waverly outside of the residence hall that morning with a coffee cup in between her hands using it to keep warm. She smiled at her girlfriend when she walked out.

“For you,” Nicole said handing the cup to Waverly.

“Wait. You’re still my girlfriend, right? I didn’t just dream that,” Waverly asked subtly.

Nicole nodded as she noticed how pretty Waverly looked that morning. She loved the way her long hair spilled over her shoulders and the way her nose turned red when she was cold. Waverly took a sip a coffee before using her free hand to trace the lines on the inside of Nicole’s hand while they walked.

“What’re you doing?” Nicole asked a little intrigued.

“I’m checking your lifeline – to make sure you’re going to be around for a while,” Waverly responded still completely focused on reading Nicole’s hand.

“How does it look?” Nicole asked trying to withhold the smile forming on her face from how adorable her girlfriend was. Waverly shrugged innocently and smiled, tightly squeezing onto Nicole’s hand and walking for a bit. “It looks like you might be stuck with me for a while,” Waverly finally answered in a low whisper.

“God I hope so.” Nicole’s eyes widened when she realized she answered quickly and paused trying to hide the eagerness in her tone.

It wasn’t long before the two stood outside Waverly’s classroom, Nicole smiled faintly and looked down towards the floor before handing Waverly her backpack.

“You should get to class,” Nicole said, “oh and we should probably go on a real date soon,” she managed to add in.

“Yeah, I’d love that – t-the date I mean,” Waverly responded flashing a charismatic smile at Nicole their hands still holding onto one another. As she tried walking into the classroom, Nicole pulled on her hand lightly and brought her in closer to her. She kissed her gently before letting go of her hand completely. And just like that, any chance that Waverly would actually be able to focus on anything, other than Nicole, in class was gone.

Waverly chewed on the end of her pen during in class that day. She couldn’t pay attention to anything the professor was saying when a pretty red-haired girl wanted to take her on a date. She scribbled notes down, but not nearly enough to ever deduce what was taught in class that day. Rosita noticed her friend was distracted.

“You got it bad, huh?” Rosita asked interrupting Waverly’s thoughts.

“What do you mean?” Waverly answered trying her best to look like she wasn’t daydreaming.

“Class has been over for like five minutes, and the lecture hall’s empty, and you’re still obviously infatuated with your notebook,” Rosita explained. Waverly looked around and quickly confirmed Rosita’s words.

“Soooo, tell me, what’s up?” Rosita asked patiently waiting for Waverly to tell her what was going on with her.

Waverly gathered her books and walked towards the door with Rosita. “Well Nicole and I finally – you know,” Waverly began explaining.

“Oh my god, you guys totally did it!” Rosita interrupted excitedly. She noticed immediately that Waverly turned bright red. “No comment,” Waverly answered solemnly looking away refusing to confirm or deny the information before continuing, “I was trying to tell you that she asked me to be her girlfriend.”

“Wave,” Rosita said lightly, the smile on her face growing bigger. 

“I know,” Waverly answered trying to hide how happy admitting it to someone else made it suddenly feel real.

“I knew Haught would finally come to her senses, I told you she really likes you,” Rosita said before pointing out an eager Nicole that was waiting for her outside of the science building. “Text me later, I have all the notes you missed,” Rosita whispered before walking past Waverly.

She turned to Nicole and said just loud enough for her to hear, “You know, Wynonna is going to kill you if you hurt her,” before walking away. 

 _Oh my god, Wynonna. How am I going to tell Wynonna,_ she thought to herself. Nicole felt her chest get a little bit heavier.

Before she could think of an actual solution, Waverly wrapped her arms around her neck. Nicole smiled at the small girl holding onto her.

 

 

The thought of telling Wynonna was on Nicole’s mind everyday that week. She knew there was no good way to tell her about her feelings for Waverly.

Waverly read a book and laid on her bed while Nicole was busy throwing a small rubber ball up in the air and catching it as she paced around in Waverly’s room. Nicole put the ball down and hopped on top of the bed. She picked up Waverly’s legs and put them on top of her lap, waiting patiently for her girlfriend to finish the page she was on and pay attention to her. Nicole played with the ring on her finger, trying to shake off some of the nervousness she was feeling. 

“Wave – you like me right?” Nicole finally interrupted no longer able to wait for her girlfriend to finish the page.

“I really do,” Waverly admitted as looked up from her book. 

“Good, then because you like me so much, you can tell Wynonna, about us I mean” Nicole said nervously.

“Baby, that’s funny,” Waverly said smiling not yet realizing that Nicole was being serious.

“Oh, you’re not kidding,” Waverly said putting her book down next to her.

Nicole began pouting and became visibly worried. “B-baby, it’s just she can’t actually kill you because she loves you, but she can kill me,” Nicole began trying to explain. 

Waverly sat up. “Babe, you’re her best friend,” she said trying to dodge the responsibility of telling Wynonna. “Yeah but you’re her sister, and sister tops best friend,” Nicole responded defensively trying to hand the responsibility back to Waverly. 

“You’re right, I’ll just tell her that you make me really happy,” Waverly responded, a slight smile gathering on her face as she switched tactics. Nicole sighed in relief.

 “Of course then Wynonna would ask me how it happened, and I would have to mention that after the night we spent in the hotel room, I persuaded you to finally ask me to be your girlfriend,” Waverly continued, “Actually, I think I’ll tell her I persuaded you _twice_ that night, oh and _twice_ again last night too just in case you still had doubts,” Waverly waited for Nicole’s reaction.

Nicole’s face was fully flushed, “Yep, got it, I’ll tell her,” Nicole quickly responded completely giving in. “But it’s going to cost you,” Nicole said towering over Waverly. Waverly smiled and kissed her girlfriend’s lips softly. She loved any excuse to run her finger through Nicole’s hair.

 _I’m helpless around her,_ Nicole thought as she pulled away and traced the kiss with her fingers. “I’m going to go before you convince me to do anything else,” Nicole said as she headed out of Waverly’s room.

 Nicole went from pacing in Waverly’s room to pacing in hers, reciting how she was going to tell her best friend that she was dating her sister, for what seemed like hours. She stopped in front of the mirror. _Okay, you can do this,_ she said to herself. She began rehearsing all the different ways she could approach the conversation.

“Wynonna I like her and I don’t care if you don’t like that,” _No that’s bad_.

“Heyyy Wynonna do you like Waverly? Cause so do I.” _No that’s bad too._

“Waverly makes me feel all kinds of good things,” _God, this is getting worse._

 _Why is this so hard_ , she thought putting her hands on her face trying to compose herself a bit. Before she could have a second round of practice, her phone began ringing.

“Wynonnaaa,” Nicole said in a slightly surprised tone.

“Hey Haught, Wave said you needed to tell me something.” 

“Did she say that?” Nicole responded nervously.

“Oh no, what’s wrong,” Wynonna asked, “Is everything okay? Problems with your mom again? She’s a big fan of me, I can talk to her for you if you want,” Wynonna began teasing.

“Welllll actually—” Nicole said her voice drifting a little as she tried to put together actual words. Wynonna began the usual lecture of how Nicole should be patient with her mom.

Nicole interrupted Wynonna mid-lecture, “No, Wynonna it’s not that, I just, I like Waverly a lot and she makes me feel all kinds of good things.” Nicole closed her eyes and shook her head that out of all the words she could have used those were the ones she chose. “What I mean is, I asked her to be my girlfriend,” Nicole finally said trying to redeem herself.

“Okay. Ewwwwww,” Wynonna said trying to drown out Nicole’s voice. “Nicole that’s gross, because I’m like your sister so when you think about it it’s like you’re hooking up with your sister’s sister,”

“Well, no it’s not kinda like that. Wynonna it’s actually nothing like that,” Nicole said trying to get the twisted image out of her mind.

“I’m kidding Haught. Waverly is old enough to date whoever she wants to date. And I’m old enough to tell you that if I ever see your hands on my little sister, I have the right to punch you.”

“Yep, got it,” Nicole answered promptly.

“Oh and Nicole,” Wynonna said. 

“Yeah?”

“Waverly actually called me a while ago and told me, she said you were really nervous and wanted to spare you the trouble, but _I thought_ it’d be more entertaining to hear it from you.” 

Nicole felt her ears get red. “Bye Wynonna,” she said as she hung up the phone. She fanned her face and took a deep breath trying to relax a little bit. 

 _I guess it could’ve been worse?_ Nicole thought briefly before burying her head in the pillow.

 

Time seemed to fly by, because their schedules at the end of the semester had been so strange, they hadn’t gotten around to going out on their first date. Nicole planned an entire date, but the whole night was uprooted when Waverly saw what Nicole was wearing that night. Their plans quickly changed and instead of going out they spent the majority of the night wrapped up in one another. Waverly had never met someone that she just couldn’t keep her hands off, not until Nicole.

Although they both openly admitted that they liked each other, they hadn’t quite mentioned how much they liked each other. As winter break got closer, Nicole was afraid of scaring Waverly away.

The day before winter break they sat down in a coffee shop. While she waited for Waverly to get their drinks she began thinking, _it’s too soon to ask her if I can visit during the holidays, right?_

She watched as her girlfriend walked towards holding a cup in each hand. “You still owe me a date,” Waverly said as she sat down across from Nicole. “Mhmm and who’s fault is that?” Nicole teased. “Not that you put up a fight,” Waverly answered as she smiled remembering the night.

“Sooo what are you plans for the holidays,” Waverly asked moving a loose strand of hair out of her face.

“Same old stuff with my family, nothing special though,” Nicole responded hoping that Waverly might ask her to visit her over winter break.

“That should be fun,” Waverly responded cheerfully, pausing to look at her phone.

“Sorry – it’s Wynonna,” she said as she texted her sister back. “She’s set on decorating the house this year.”

“That should be interesting,” Nicole responded.

“Yeah, I have to cheer at the basketball game tonight, but I’ll see you after. Promise you won’t leave before I see you?” Waverly said as she stood up.

“I promise,” Nicole said smiling at her girlfriend.

Waverly leaned in and kissed Nicole quickly before turning around and answering the phone that was now ringing in her hand. 

Nicole heard Waverly’s voice get lower as she walked away, “… no Wynonna that’s definitely not what that’s for.” 

She sat at the table tapping her finger against the lid repeatedly before taking a sip and grabbing her backpack off the floor. She couldn’t help but be sad about not seeing Waverly for the next couple of weeks. Nicole had become accustomed to her smile and more recently her sporadic moments of affection. Like when it was cold at night and Waverly would move in a little closer to her and hug her just a little bit tighter, not enough to make a difference but enough for Nicole to notice. _It’s only a couple of weeks, it’ll be okay,_ Nicole said trying to convince herself.

If she wasn’t going to visit Waverly over winter break, Nicole was determined to spend every last second with her. She showed up at the last basketball game before winter break. She walked in and immediately noticed her girlfriend. Waverly wasn’t looking in Nicole’s direction; she was talking to a couple of her friends in the cheerleading squad. But something about the way Waverly was candidly pretty made Nicole feel luckier to have her. Nicole tried her best to focus on the game, but Waverly was extremely distracting. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who thought so, she noticed a couple of people in the audience looking at Waverly. 

Eventually Waverly spotted her girlfriend in the crowd, and waved at her shyly before turning around. In between cheers Waverly would look out into the sea of students and look at Nicole helplessly. Once the final buzzer sounded signaling the end of the game, Nicole made her way towards Waverly.

“Remind me why I haven’t come to every sporting event you’ve cheered for again?” Nicole asked placing her hands around Waverly’s waist.

“I would’ve asked you, but I just didn’t know if it was your thing,” she replied.

“B-baby, that’s everybody’s thing.”

Waverly smiled shyly and looked away unable to look at her girlfriend. Nicole grabbed Waverly’s duffle bag off of the floor and put her track sweatshirt on Waverly before heading outside. Waverly fixed her hair that had been displaced by the sweatshirt and reached out for Nicole’s hand.

“So when are you leaving?” Waverly asked when they got to her room.

“Um, right now actually, my mom’s freaking out about the holiday decorations, so if I don’t get there soon, she might kill my dad, I’m stopping by to pick up the cat and then I’m heading home.” 

Waverly took off Nicole’s sweatshirt. “I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me about that uniform earlier,” Nicole said looking at Waverly in it once more. Nicole shook her head when she tried to hand her the sweatshirt, “Noo you keep it, I like the way you look in my sport’s stuff,” she gave Waverly a dimpled smile before saying, “Well I should probably get going.”

“Okay, I’ll miss you and I’ll talk to you soon,” Waverly said. She kissed her girlfriend softly. To her surprise the kiss was longer than she expected. Nicole pushed Waverly against the door slightly, but pulled away shortly after. Waverly shuttered at the loss of contact. The way Nicole kissed her made her disappointed that her girlfriend had to leave at that very second.

“I’m holding you to that,” Nicole whispered into Waverly’s ear.

Nicole put her hands in her pockets, and walked towards her car that was already packed.

 _Such an idiot, why didn’t I tell her I wanted to visit her,_ Nicole thought as she drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo that happened! I wrote a bunch of the next update because like goshhh it really was fun to write, but I don't know when I'll have time to edit. I'm hoping to update soon with potential girlfriend holiday stuff that makes me feel lame for even thinking about it and then more lame for writing it, but idk idk idk I'm terrible at sticking to this writing thing so let's just all collectively cross our fingers that I don't just give up on it completely. Until then, I hope you guys have a great days and beautiful nights, I love you all. Thanks for being soooo nice to me literally all the time <3


	15. There Definitely Should Be.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> holiday stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the update! it sure took me long enough to get around to doing it so I'm sorry about that :)

Before Nicole knew it, she was sitting in her car outside of her parent’s house. She took a minute to look through her phone to check if Waverly messaged her. Sure enough there was a message on her phone that read _I miss you cutie, do you miss me?_ Nicole took a second to smile as she pressed her head against the headrest trying not to get excited over a simple message. She put her phone down for a second trying to get her thoughts in order, trying to come up with a witty reply.

_Say something sweet but don’t scare her away,_ she said as she thought of four different responses.

Before she could reply, she was interrupted by her dad who knocked on the car window gently. Nicole put her phone on the dashboard and stepped out of the car to hug her dad. She grabbed the cat from the backseat while her dad grabbed her bags from the trunk, and the two hurried along inside.

“Am I getting old or is it getting colder every year,” he said shivering a bit as he closed the door behind them.

“Nicole, is that you?” her mom asked loudly. Her voice echoed from upstairs and carried through the house.

“Yep, mom. It’s me,” Nicole shouted back. She looked at her dad confused and wondering why her mom was shouting from the attic. Her dad shrugged his shoulders and took his daughters bags to her bedroom. Nicole opened the cage and let the cat roam around the house. Then walked towards the attic and found her mom sorting through boxes of holiday decorations.

“Mommmm?” Nicole called out, trying her best to navigate through the mess in the attic.

“I’m right here,” she responded from behind a pile of boxes.

“Oh good, I thought you had turned into whatever _this_ is,” Nicole teased pointing at an oversized Halloween decoration.

“Oh I bet you’d love that– not getting rid of me that easily honey,” her mom said as she hugged her daughter tightly.

“How do you keep getting smaller every time I see you,” her mom asked curiously. “You know, when I first started dating your dad, I couldn’t eat a thing, all I wanted to do was be around him all the time. You’re not in love are you?” she teased.

Nicole leaned her back against the wall uncomfortably and rubbed her eye with one hand refusing to make eye contact with her mom. Nicole laughed nervously and wasn’t entirely sure if her mom expected an answer.

“Actually don’t answer that,” her mom interrupted noticing the lost look on her daughter’s face.

“Here help me, instead” her mom said politely, trying to change the subject. Nicole dragged the boxes of decorations out from the attic. Agreeing to spend the rest of the night helping her mom sort through them. She hoped that the gesture would put her mom in a good enough mood that she’d be able to tell her mom about her beautiful girlfriend without it becoming a big deal.

As they set up the Christmas tree in the living room, her mom used their time together to talk to her daughter who was usually reluctant to talk about her feelings.

“You know, that pretty ex girlfriend of yours has been stopping by recently,” she said trying to get a read on where Nicole’s mind was at.

“That’s weird considering you never let her stop by, you know, when we were actually dating,” Nicole teased. She put the ornament she had in her hand down and began playing with the ring on her finger nervously.

“Actually, speaking of girlfriends, I wanted to tell you about something” just as Nicole was about to get the words out, a loud bang came from the attic interrupting their conversation.

“Hold that thought honey,” her mom said going upstairs to check on the noise. Her mother returned momentarily, “Okay now what were you going to tell me,” she asked fully focused on her daughter.

In the short time it took for her mom to return, Nicole had lost all the courage that she had built up. “Nothing, forget it, I’ll tell you about it later,” she said softly. Picking up the ornament she had set down and hanging it on the tree.

When they finished setting up the decorations, Nicole went upstairs to wash her face and get ready for bed. As she splashed the warm water against her face, she remembered that she left her phone in the car.

_Wave,_ she said to herself before drying her face and running downstairs to retrieve her phone. Nicole noticed a couple of missed messages from Waverly.

She called her immediately from the car. Waverly was half asleep when she heard her phone ring. She waited for the phone to ring exactly three times before answering reasoning with herself that picking up anytime before the three rings would seem way too desperate.

“Wave, sorry I got caught up helping my mom, and I left my phone in the car. And well I— I just wanted you to let you know that I miss you too, a lot actually. And I just realized that I sounded a little too excited there,” Nicole said closing her eyes tightly hoping that she could go back in time and redo the conversation.

“Baby stop. I like it, it’s cute,” Waverly said unable to hide the way hearing Nicole’s voice made her inexplicably happy.

“Yeah?” Nicole said settling into the driver’s seat and running a hand through her hair trying to ease up a bit.

Neither of them were sure exactly how long they talked that night because time seemed irrelevant when they enjoyed each other’s company that much. Their conversations jumped from one topic to the next effortlessly. They were never boring; how could they be when Nicole wanted to know absolutely every little thing about Waverly.

“Wave?” Nicole asked softly after not hearing her girlfriend’s voice for a while. Waverly had fallen asleep somewhere between their talk about the new book Waverly was reading and their debate on whether sleeping with socks was okay. The thought of Waverly falling asleep on the phone made Nicole ridiculously happy – something about putting her to bed and knowing that she was the last person that she talked that night made her feel special.

“Goodnight baby, I lo–” Nicole stopped herself and hung up the phone. She was surprised that the three little words that would surely scare Waverly away, were already aching to come out. She laid her head down on the steering wheel for a minute thinking about how every part of Waverly was perfect, inside and out Nicole believed that Waverly’s soul was beautiful.

_I’m in trouble,_ Nicole said squeezing the car keys in her hand tightly. She couldn’t help but fall in love with Waverly, the feeling was intoxicating and completely addicting, and she, well she was helpless.

Nicole walked back inside the house and noticed the light in her dad’s study was still on. She stopped by and peaked her head through the half open door.

“Well aren’t you glowing,” her dad said looking up from his work and smiling at his daughter. Nicole walked into the room, and noticed that her steps felt lighter every time she thought of Waverly.

Her dad’s eyes narrowed, “I have a feeling I might have a certain someone to thank for that.”

Nicole nodded. “I think I might love her dad,” Nicole admitted.

“Is she your girlfriend?” her dad asked putting his pen down. Nicole nodded and smiled. “Good,” her dad answered.

“Do me a favor Nic, don’t tell your mom about it until we come home after New Years. Or I’ll have to deal with the dramatics on vacation,” he said softly.

“Will do,” Nicole answered, slightly relieved that she had an actual reason to put off telling her mom about Waverly. She kissed her dad’s cheek before walking out of the study. She went to bed that night feeling happy, but couldn’t deny that she missed having Waverly there to hold at night.

 

The next several days passed by slowly. Nicole found herself spending a lot of the day thinking about how much she wanted to be with her girlfriend. At night, she had a hard time sleeping without her girlfriend laying next to her.

Nicole knew that she’d miss Waverly’s arms draped all over her while they slept, but she never thought she’d miss the, what seemed like, fifteen blankets that Waverly used to keep warm. The ones that would make Nicole sweat a ridiculous amount, and make her sleep uncomfortably, but she missed all of it. The late night phone calls helped her fall asleep, but it wasn’t the same without her girlfriend there.

Nicole went out for drinks with a couple of her friends at the local bar strip in town on Christmas Eve, but the only thing she could think about was how pretty Waverly would look sitting next to her at the bar.

The thought faded quickly when her ex-girlfriend, Sophie, sat in the barstool next to her.

“Two tequila shots,” she said to the bartender, turning around to smile at Nicole.

“Hey cutie,” she said softly interrupting Nicole’s thoughts. “I haven’t seen you this often since high school.” She innocently played with a button on Nicole’s jacket.

“I – I have a Waverly, I mean a girlfriend,” Nicole blurted out nervously.

Nicole’s ex girlfriend laughed slightly, “I didn’t ask, but I guess I still make you nervous.” Nicole looked away, unsure of how to reply.

“It’s a good thing, I like it, good luck with your _girlfriend,_ oh and if you get a second I’d love to dance with you – _as friends_ of course,” she said with a smug look on her face. She grabbed the tequila shots and walked back towards her friends.

Nicole kept drinking, to keep up with her friends, as the night went on. She stepped outside of the bar and immediately felt the cold of the winter creep into her bones. She stumbled a bit and leaned against the closest wall. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and called the only person on her mind.

“Hi baby, how’s the night out going?” Waverly asked in a half-asleep voice.

“It’s good, but I have to tell you something important,” Nicole said trying to compose an actual thought.

Waverly instantly noticed that Nicole was slurring slightly, “Have you been drinking a little bit?” she asked.

“Just a little bit, but I really really need to tell you a secret,” Nicole said in a more urgent tone.

“Tell me,” Waverly said completely interested in what her cute drunken mess of a girlfriend had to say.

“Baby, baby, it’s just – I don’t want you to have boyfriends or girlfriends after me. Just me,” Nicole couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth if she tried. Not that she cared. In that moment she was quite content with herself.

“Well I don’t want you to have anymore either,” Waverly answered. She rolled around in bed unable to lay still. She couldn’t contain how happy hearing those words made her. She wondered if Nicole would remember confessing it to her in the morning at all, either way she was willing to keep her secret.

“Also, I like when you do that thing where you brush my hair with your fingers, where’d you even learn to do that?” Nicole asked her voice sounding a little more excited about that then her confession.

“Goodnight baby, text me when you get home so I know you’re safe,” Waverly said before hanging up the phone.

Nicole stumbled towards the bench across from the bar, she sat down for a second. _God, I like her so much,_ she thought as she smiled. Sophie walked out of the bar and noticed Nicole’s face was completely red from the cold.

“Are you crazy? Or are you just happy to be freezing out here,” she said running over to her and pulling her scarf over Nicole.

“We didn’t get to dance, let me at least take you home,” she said helping Nicole up.

The two sat in the car outside of Nicole’s house.

“Déjà vu huh?” she said softly.

“Yeah,” Nicole responded a slight smile gathering on her face.

“How many nights do you think I helped you sneak you out of there,” she asked turning towards Nicole.

“Yeah, my mom wasn’t your biggest fan,” Nicole answered. “Speaking of that, are you two hanging out?” Nicole asked.

“God no, your mom singlehandedly ruined the best relationship I had,” she answered bitterly. “I thought she was lying, that makes more sense,” Nicole said slightly relieved they weren’t hanging out.

“So your _Waverly_ , is she good to you?” she asked fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket.

“She’s the best,” Nicole’s said, her face lighting up completely, the way it always did when she got a chance to talk about her girlfriend. “Oh and she does this thing where she scratches your head until you fall asleep,” Nicole continued excitedly.

Sophie interrupted, unable to pretend that Nicole’s words didn’t hurt her. “Good, I’m glad you’re happy. But if she breaks your heart, just know that I never did. And I’ll be here Nic,” she said. “You think you can get inside on your own?” she asked.

Nicole nodded and stepped out of the car. She took the scarf off and tried to give it back but her ex girlfriend just said, “keep it, my stuff always looks better on you,” and drove away.

The interaction was meaningless to Nicole; she was sure that nobody could ever make her feel the way Waverly did. Half drunk, she dreamt of her girlfriend’s smile and fell asleep soundly – missing her more that night than any other night since winter break began.

 

Nicole spent Christmas day with her parents, who left the next day for their annual holiday vacation. They promised to return before Nicole’s birthday in the beginning of January, and hugged their daughter goodbye. Once alone in the house, Nicole spent majority of her time walking around, going from room to room pointlessly roaming.

Waverly and Wynonna spent the holidays together. Wynonna immediately noticed that something was off with her little sister. She wasn’t sure why Waverly was having such a difficult time getting into the holiday spirit, it was usually Wynonna that needed a push. All she knew is her little sister was glued to her phone, carrying it around everywhere they went.

A couple of days after Christmas, Nicole was woken up by a phone call from Waverly.

“Baby,” Nicole said softly, smiling that Waverly had woken her up with a call.

“Ew. No, it’s me Haught!”

“Wynonna, what’s going on?” Nicole asked a little worried.

“What’s going on is my little sister is moping around the house. She’s glued to that phone talking to you all day, so I took it away,” Wynonna responded.

Nicole didn’t like that Waverly was miserable, but slightly relieved that she wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

“Haught, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here,” Nicole answered quickly.

“Sooo then, what are you going to do about it?”

“Do about it?” Nicole asked.

“Yeah, when are you coming by and finally checking out the shit-town we call home.”

“Oh, I would have to ask Wave,”

“Nicole, do something on a whim for once. Surprise her. I’ll text you the directions.” Wynonna said in a more urgent tone.

Nicole heard the two wrestling over Waverly’s phone.

“Hi baby, sorry, I’ll call you later,” Waverly said quickly before hanging up.

Nicole laid down thinking about whether she should go see her favorite person. _I should ask first, maybe she doesn’t even like surprises,_ Nicole thought as she stood up and paced back and fourth in the living room.

 

Wynonna was known for her infamous New Years Eve parties. Everyone in Purgatory knew that the party wasn’t over until everyone went home or passed out on the living room floor. Waverly wasn’t really in the mood for a party that year, something about Nicole being so far away had put a serious damper on her holiday spirit. Even then, she helped Wynonna set everything up for the party. She was determined to at least have a little fun that night, after all her friends from town were coming, not that she related much to any of them anymore. She heard the doorbell ring downstairs and ran to open it quickly, she didn’t know why she was disappointed when Wynonna’s friend was at the door. She felt stupid for thinking that it could have been Nicole. After all, Waverly was a logical thinker and she knew Nicole was miles away. Even then she still hoped her girlfriend would magically show up.

Wynonna smiled when she realized Dolls was at the door. Waverly dragged her feet up the steps to her room. She checked her phone multiple times, Nicole hadn’t even texted her back that day.

_She’s having fun with her friends, she doesn’t want to talk to me,_ Waverly thought as she placed her phone facedown in a drawer. She tried to shake off the insecure thoughts to finish getting ready.

It wasn’t long before the guests began arriving. Waverly reluctantly went downstairs to join in the celebration. A couple of hours in, Waverly confirmed that absolutely everyone in the small town still had the same old stories to tell. Nobody in that small town ever managed to catch her attention. Especially not the way Nicole did. She drank from the red cup in her hand hoping to make things a little more exciting or at the very least, bearable.

Nicole sat in the driveway, and noticed the dozens of cars parked outside the homestead. She realized then that it might be a little more difficult to find Waverly than she expected. She walked up the steps of the house, and immediately noticed Wynonna on top of a table dancing with a whiskey bottle in her hand. As Nicole looked around the house trying to find her girlfriend, Waverly walked outside for some fresh air. With all the people crammed inside of the house, neither noticed walking right past each other.

Nicole went upstairs and stumbled across Waverly’s room. She smiled at the bulletin board that hung on her bedroom wall that had pictures of Waverly in high school pinned to it.

Waverly instantly realized how cold it was. She went upstairs to grab the track pullover that Nicole left her before winter break. As she walked upstairs she noticed the light in her room turned on. She walked a little faster trying to find out who was in her room.

“I swear to god if someone’s hooking up in my room,” she said loudly before pushing the door open.

“Hey stranger,” Nicole said, softly smiling at Waverly as she approached her. “Oh, don’t worry – no hooking up going on here,” she teased raising both hands in the air innocently.

“There definitely should be,” Waverly responded. She smiled widely at the pretty girl in front of her as she placed her hands around Nicole’s neck. Waverly kissed her girlfriend softly, she didn’t realize just how much she missed her until she remembered how good it felt to have her so close. They picked up right where they left off, their kisses becoming a little more desperate. Waverly pulled off Nicole’s coat and tossed it onto the floor. Waverly leaned her body against Nicole’s pushing her onto the bed slightly. She pinned Nicole on the bed, taking complete control of the situation.

“I missed you,” Nicole said in between kisses.

“What did you miss the most?” Waverly asked, a smug look appearing on her face.

Nicole pressed her head against the pillow remembering their conversation a couple of nights ago. She knew Waverly was referencing their late night conversation that resulted in a better than average sleep.

“I don’t remember you being this shy over the phone, when you actually answered that question for me,” Waverly teased grabbing both of Nicole’s arms and holding them over her head.

“If you keep talking to me like that I might have to answer that, I think we both remember how excited that makes you” Nicole shot back.

The way Nicole’s voice sounded deeper and slightly more aggressive made Waverly crave her even more. She began working her hands up Nicole’s shirt, but they both stopped when they heard someone walking up the stairs towards her room.

“Wave, I can’t find the other bottle of –”

Nicole sat on the edge of the bed wiping away the traces of Waverly’s lipstick while trying to look as innocent as possible.

“Haught, you made it,” Wynonna said excitedly. She noticed Nicole’s coat thrown across the floor and the bed slightly displaced. “And apparently your hands made it too, and they’re already all over my little sister,” she said a little louder, punching Nicole’s arm.

“Your bottle is in the barn, I put it there so you would pace yourself tonight, Nicole will pop out and grab it,” Waverly said pointing Nicole towards the door.

“I will?” Nicole asked a little confused. “I mean, I will,” Nicole said a little more enthusiastically, rubbing her arm and walking outside.

She shivered when she realized how cold it was outside, she carried her coat in her hand figuring that she wouldn’t need to put it on. The walk between the homestead and the barn was short. She grabbed the bottle and went back inside not realizing that she left her coat on top of the table in the barn. Wynonna thanked her with a red cup filled to the top with a mysterious drink. Nicole sipped on it lightly as Waverly excitedly introduced her to everyone at the party.

Waverly watched Nicole all night, all she wanted to do was get a little alone time with her girlfriend. But apparently everyone she introduced her to did too. Waverly wasn’t the only one interested in Nicole’s stories.

The two sat at a small table talking to a couple of Waverly’s high school friends. One of her friends was telling the story of Waverly’s first experience with drinking. Nicole smiled at her girlfriend as she tried to picture the situation. Waverly had more pressing issues in mind though, she rubbed Nicole’s inner thigh, while she helped her friend finish telling the story. Nicole’s face almost gave it away, but Waverly continued telling the story unaffected. Nicole began thinking of all the things they could’ve done upstairs, had they not been interrupted, and it only made the situation worse. Nicole possibly had the worst poker face, and couldn’t pretend that Waverly’s hands weren’t filling her head with ideas. She drank the rest of her drink quickly as an excuse to stand up and get another, she needed to get away from Waverly if she was going to make it through the night.

“I’ll go with you, babe,” Waverly said standing up behind her.

“Yeah, yep. Actually no, no you stay – here.” Nicole responded nervously.

Nicole went out to her car for some fresh air. She looked for her keys and remembered that they were sitting inside the coat that she left in the barn. She turned around and saw her girlfriend walking towards her. Waverly pulled her towards the back of the car.

“There’s nobody around,” Waverly whispered softly into her girlfriend’s ear. Nicole didn’t need much convincing. She kissed Waverly, unable to control herself. She was helpless to all the things Waverly was making her feel. She pinned Waverly against the car, using one hand to keep Waverly’s hips from grinding into her body while she kissed her neck softly. Waverly dug her nails into Nicole’s hair, needing something to tug on lightly to make up for the fact that she had no control over anything happening.

“Open the car,” Waverly begged, realizing that things were going a lot better than she expected.

“I don’t have the keys,” Nicole said struggling to pull away. “I left them in there,” Nicole said pointing at the barn.

Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand and pulled her towards the barn. “Actually, I have an idea,” she whispered.

“Baby, this doesn’t seem like a good idea,” Nicole said following closely behind, putting the pieces together.

“That’s because it’s not” Waverly answered pulling the barn door open.

“Wave, there’s people. A lot of them. They could walk in, and Wynonna, she’d kill me if she,” before she could finish the sentence Waverly gently pushed her towards a table sitting in the corner of the barn. She pulled her shirt off and tossed it aside.

“It’s almost midnight, Wynonna will come looking for you,” Nicole said trying to come up with any reason to stop Waverly, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to.

“I guess you better hurry up then,” Waverly said challenging Nicole and walking towards her slowly.

“Baby, I really really,” Nicole’s eyes traced Waverly’s body, “really want to, I just don’t think that,” Waverly grabbed the belt loops of Nicole’s jeans and pulled her hips in closer towards hers.

“What do I have to take off to get you to stop talking and kiss me already,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeahhhh, so I wanted to put this update out there so we all collectively know where the story is going. Not sure if I'm going to publish how the last scene ends or just jump on into the next part only because there's still so much of the story that I need to cover. I am planning on writing their first date next, so if you're into that kind of a thing, there's that to look forward to. Anywayssss, I hope you guys enjoyed the update.
> 
> Also I hope everyone had a safe holiday season, mine was a tiny bit busier than I expected hence the late update. But I'm catching up slowly. As always, thanks for reading and consistently being sooo great <3

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think in the comments. I have read fanfiction but this is my first time actually writing it, so I might just stop after this piece unless someone out there enjoyed it. Feel free to give tips or suggestions. Thanks for reading! Always up to meet new people that love Wynonna Earp and enjoy the otp that is Wayhaught @grizzygator.tumblr.com


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